Wrong Conclusions
by Faithie
Summary: After Trigon is defeated, emotions go haywire and everyone is coming to the wrong conclusions about each other's feelings. Can the Titans cool down long enough to save a little boy from a fate he doesn't want?
1. Chapter one : Clandestine Farewells

**_Wrong Conclusions_**  
_Chapter one: Clandestine Farewells_

She had smiled through the whole thing.

She had smiled when Raven defeated Trigon. She had smiled when she saw her dear friend in a white cloak, back in her older form. She had smiled when she saw Raven hug her other dear friend, Robin. She had still smiled while she saw Beast Buy hugging Raven next. Even back in the Titans Tower, she had smiled throughout the whole celebration for having their teammate back, and the Earth being back to normal. She had even smiled while noticing that Robin and Raven were having an intimate talk.

She had smiled the whole time.

But as the door to her room slid shut, Starfire leaned against it and allowed the tears to flow down her cheeks. Oh, she was still smiling, but now it was a bitter-sweet smile of defeat. And it turned into a scowl within moments.

Starfire really was ecstatic that Raven was back, that wasn't the problem! What bothered the poor Tamaranian more than anything was the fact that Raven and Robin were now, once again, close. True, the two had always gotten along better than most of the other Titans, especially after Raven had been within Robin's mind. But when they had hugged, Robin had not pulled away from Raven in the same manner he always had from Starfire. Around the Tamaranian, Robin had always been oddly quiet and had always gotten very angry and tacit after she did anything affectionate. Seeing Raven being allowed to get that close to Robin was simply too much for Starfire to bear.

And what hurt Starfire most as she leaned against her door, allowing the tears to roll down her cheeks, was that she was happy for them. She loved Raven and Robin very dearly, and wasn't about to try and stand in their way. If the two had such feelings for each other, Starfire was going to allow everything to run its course, even if it meant giving up on Robin. She wanted both friends to be happy, even if it tore her up from inside.

Starfire tried to wipe the hot tears away from her face but merely caused herself more discomfort. She had wiped her face with her forearm, around which her armor was clasped, and the cold suddenly contacting with her face caused a shiver of discomfort to run down her spine. She gave a chocked sob, allowing her mind to wander to her sad thoughts of defeat once again.

Starfire had almost always had feelings for Robin for as long as she could have remembered. He had always been very kind to her, even though he didn't baby her in battle. Rightfully so, considering Starfire's immense strength and endurance; she would have felt he was thinking little of her if he had tried to protect her during fights. But it was because Robin had always been so kind to her that Starfire had though she had a chance with him.

Robin had appeared ashamed when he had to go out on a date with that treacherous 'Kitten' girl. He had stopped Starfire's sister from taking her place in the Teen Titans. And he had helped stop her arraigned marriage on Tamaran to that blob her sister had found. All of these actions had caused Starfire to have stronger and stronger feelings for him, and she believed that he had felt the same about her. After his mention of his difficulty to speak of feelings, Starfire had decided to take things one step at a time and wait for a day when Robin was ready to bring up the subject of his own accord.

But apparently, Starfire had waited too long, and for this, she simply loathed herself.

Then, as Starfire's gasps for breath became less strangled, she realized something that made her feel even more foolish then before. So what if she hadn't said anything to Robin? If he felt that strongly about Raven, it merely meant he didn't feel such a way about her. She had merely saved herself a very embarrassing conversation and weeks of awkward glances.

Starfire gave a small laugh, at last finding the bright side she had so hoped for. "W-Well, it appears as though this particular t-time I am not victorious," She told herself in a joking manner. She had won so many battles for the Titans with her pure strength, so losses were rare experiences for her.

Starfire thought of how she could still talk the way she always had with Robin without feeling awkward, and of the happiness he would one-day obtain when he and Raven told one another of their emotions. Surprising as it was, it was happy enough of a thought to allow the Tamaranian to hover off of the ground, and over to her bed.

So, she couldn't get Robin. Oh, well. She could focus more on her other friends and focus on getting stronger in battle. She was a hero on Earth, and people depended on her! Romance wasn't something she needed; heck, it may have even gotten in the way.

She thought of the vision of Raven and Robin hugging the way they had. Starfire gave a small giggle, now feeling mildly better about it in her head. Her heart ached as though it had been ripped in two, but the gladness Starfire felt inside of her head was enough to let her ignore it. The two did make for an interesting couple. And now she'd have more time to get to know Cyborg and Beast Boy. She had fought along-side both of them during their battle with Trigon, and knew little to nothing of them!

All Starfire knew of Cyborg was that half of him was apparently this thing called a 'machine'. Starfire did not understand the concept too well. The Machines she had always dealt with could not think on their own, much less feel. There was much more to Cyborg than merely his mechanics, and he knew the same pain of discrimination as she did.

Beast Boy was another mystery to her. Before Terra came into their lives, Beast Boy had always been funny and lazy, trying to ignore any responsibility he could. He spoke like most the human 'surfers' of the Earth did, and yet he didn't look human at all. He had always made jokes and bothered Raven, and every one of the Titans had always thought of him as someone who wore his emotions on his sleeves, including Starfire. But after Terra's betrayal, a new side of Beast Boy had been exposed. He had true passion in his heart and risked everything for someone the others no longer trusted, and managed to bring out the good in her one final time.

Starfire's lids suddenly became heavy as she closed her bright-green eyes, hearing voices not too far away from her door. Unlike Robin's and Raven's rooms, her door was left rather thin, so that she could hear if trouble was beginning to stir.

Starfire smiled, recognizing the voices of her fellow Titans. Raven and Robin had already headed to their separate rooms, so it was only Beast Boy and Cyborg left in the hallway.

"So, up for a game of Stank-Ball, BB? I choked down some of your stupid tofu-bacon, I owe you a good butt-whooping," Cyborg's low and playful voice rumbled. Starfire could sense the stench of the 'Stank-Ball' even through her door.

"...No thanks, dude," Beast Boy's voice came, accompanied by a small, forced laugh and a very fake and unconvincing yawn. "I think I'm gonna call it a night. After fightin' myself for almost a whole day, I think it's only right I caught up on some Z's before I make up for all my lost couch-time. 'Sides, shouldn't you recharge, too?"

"Alright, if you're so scared of losing," Cyborg taunted, but the sound of his footsteps was heard afterward. Beast Boy's light footsteps followed a moment later, along with the sounds of his door sliding closed.

Starfire closed her eyes, allowing the welcomed feeling of sleep to over-take her. True, it was very uncomfortable for her to sleep in her uniform, much less her armor, but all of the emotions she had felt that day, along with the exhausting battle with her alter-ego caused Starfire to be completely drained of energy. With a small sigh of 'Farewell, Robin...' Starfire allowed sleep to take over her exhausted body.

As Starfire accepted everything and allowed sleep to take over, another Titan had his emotions rattled in a similar manner, if not to a more serious extent. He walked over to his bed, sitting down on the bottom rather than top bunk, and merely stared at the ground with a blank expression on his face. Beast Boy was in a state of shock, still unable to comprehend all of the sudden grief he was feeling.

He had been just as happy as the other Titans the whole time, after all, why shouldn't he have been? Raven was back and free of Trigon's control, everyone was alive, he had hugged Raven, she acted the same as always by asking him to flake off; everything was back to normal.

Beast Boy's eyes narrowed as he finally accepted a small truth. _Everything ISN'T back to normal..._

He balled his hands into fists and stood as rage suddenly over-took him. Without thinking or realizing what was happening, Beast Boy began picking up things in his room and throwing them at walls. He threw his action figures, his chairs, his empty food containers -- everything he could have gotten his hands on. Beast Boy had learned from the chemical reaction he had had when Adonis had pushed him into those toxins that nobody could hear him breaking things in his room; his walls were very sound proof. He had only acted in a similar matter once since that incident, and it had been after Raven had broken all the things he had made for her birthday.

After a few minutes of his items shattering, Beast Boy finally calmed down, breathing very heavily. He clutched the lamp he was preparing to throw tightly in his fist, wondering if he should throw it or not. After a moment of consideration, the green teenager merely set the lamp back down and fell back into his bottom bunk.

Beast Boy felt dizzy. His heart was pounding in anger and frustration, but his eyes were quickly welling up with tears. He couldn't believe it! He had gotten his hopes up so high after Terra was no more, only to get them stepped on!

He placed his fore-arm over his eyes, to shield them from the light of his window. It didn't help him any, though. Beast Boy still saw everything that had happened the day, as though it were a movie being shown on the back of his eyelids.

Raven didn't care about him. She didn't care about him in the least. When Trigon had thrown them all to the ground, she had stood over him for a few moments, looking frantic. Beast Boy's heart had leaped, hoping she would have helped him to his feet. But no. No, she ran right to Robin and kept telling him, and only him, to get up, as though the other Titans were nothing.

And then, after Trigon was defeated, she had hugged Robin without a second thought. And after Beast Boy had made it clear he wanted the old Raven back and tried to hug her as well, she had snapped at him. And once in the Tower, she had stuck to Robin, and only Robin. The two had been speaking as though they were lovers behind everyone elses' backs -- Beast Boy had seen more than enough movies to recognize that.

Beast Boy tried to let out a steadied breath, but it ended up a rattled choke instead. He remained on his bottom bunk for what felt like could have been hours, taking all the jabs of emotion he was suddenly feeling. Beast Boy felt jealous of Robin for being so close to Raven, he was angry at Raven for not caring about him, he loathed Trigon for causing Raven and Robin to grow that much closer, he felt sick with himself for having such negative feelings towards his friends, but most of all, Beast Boy was confused.

Why did he feel so? Raven was so creepy, and he knew it. Sure, he worried about her, but...but she was just another Titan. A creepy, half-demon Teen Titan. Yeah, there had been times when he had felt close to her, as though she had even understood him, but that was because she wasn't allowed to show emotions. Raven had to suppress her emotions, which was similar to Beast Boy. He didn't hide them, he merely masked them with a smile or a bad joke, but it was the same thing. It was bottling up pain and frustration inside until it finally burst.

The more Beast Boy thought about it, the more he realized how he and Raven were alike. Sure, she liked poetry, and he liked video games, but what they felt was similar. Both of them didn't want to bother the others with their problems. Neither one liked to be bothered when they were doing something solitary. And most importantly, both of them knew the feeling of having their hearts ripped out and stepped on. For Raven, it had been Malchior, and for Beast Boy, it had been Terra.

_Malchior..._The mere remembrance of the name caused Beast Boy's blood to turn to boiling oil. What he had done to Raven was simply sick and wrong. Sure, Raven was quiet, but using her in such a way caused Beast Boy's skin to crawl. Raven deserved better than that! She may not have been a beauty queen, but there was something alluring about her gothic appearance. And she was very smart, too; all she did was read! She had a taste for poetry, which proved she was cultured -- not to mention how she had handled her life, always being told she would turn the world to dust. Raven deserved someone caring, someone fun, someone who could appreciate her! Something like Beast Boy!

The Changeling suddenly sat bolt up-right in his bed with her eyes wide in horror. He...He hadn't just thought that. Sure, he liked Raven and everything but...but...

Oh, who was he kidding? He loved everything about her! The names she called him, that strand of hair that hung on either side of her face, that jewel in her forehead, the way she used her powers, the way she smelled, the way it took him months to get her to even crack a smile...Everything!

"Aw, man, I totally blew it..." Beast Boy told himself, allowing himself to once again, fall onto the bottom bunk. "It's too late now...She digs Robin. If I weren't such a stupid-AUGH!" He punched the bed post, thankfully doing nothing more than causing his fist to throb in pain and Silkie to fall off from the top bunk.

Beast Boy let out a slow breath, rationalizing everything quickly in his head. She liked Robin, and Robin was one of his best buds -- no standing in the way. No running after Raven, no matter what. She was out of his league; Beast Boy had a better chance with CYBORG.

He turned around, smiling despite the sad look in his eyes. "Oh, well," He told himself. "Now I can focus on being less of a loser, and maybe find me a REAL babe. Goodbye, Raven," he whispered to himself before shutting his eyes and beginning to emit a soft snore.

Disclaimers:

Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Robin, Cyborg, Silkie, and pretty much everything but the plot at hand belongs to © D. C. Comics/Cartoon Network/Kids WB

Also? Gimme reviews. Please. :D


	2. Chapter two : Bewildered Birds

**Wrong Conclusions  
**_Chapter two: Bewildered Birds_

"Hey...Where are Starfire and Beast Boy?" Robin asked as he sauntered into the living room well past noon. Cyborg was sitting on the couch and playing a one-player video game, and Robin had heard Raven meditating in her room on his way there.

"I think BB's still asleep. I haven't heard a word from the little green dude all day; I think he's still tired from fighting himself. Took me a few seconds to whoop his evil self's butt, th- Hey-!" Cyborg continuously pressed down on the 'X' button, barely steering his virtual car out of the way in time to continue.

Robin blinked for a moment from behind his mask. Beast Boy usually would have been long awake and talking about their fight by then. Oh well, he was probably just really tired, just as Cyborg had suggested. "What about Starfire? She wasn't in her room."

"I think she's practicing," Cyborg muttered, only half paying attention to his worried leader.

"Practicing?" Robin echoed, bemused.

"You know. Training. She's in the training hall downstairs, working with that new program I installed a while ago. I dunno what's gotten into her, but I guess it's just her way of celebratin'."

"What? We spent all yesterday fighting, and now she's fighting again! She's never done that before," Robin glanced worriedly towards the staircase which led to the training hall, wondering what was wrong with the girl. Did she feel sick? Had something one of the other boys said hurt her feelings? Had Trigon hurt her, and now the she was merely trying to find a way to escape the pain without worrying the others?

Starfire never told anyone when she was feeling badly, and when she felt badly was the time she trained for no apparent reason. Most of those times, though, all Robin had to do was merely walk in and ask what was wrong and she would have told him everything. It had always been obvious whenever Starfire was upset; she always missed and never clapped and cheered whenever she did something correctly. Not to mention the weak excuse of a fake smile she had always tried to adorn in those cases.

"I'm going to go see what's wrong," Robin muttered, beginning to jog towards the staircase.

"Nothing's wrong, man! I know that look she gets, and she doesn't have it. Star's just...training," Cyborg told Robin, not bothering to take his eyes off of his video game. True, he knew that something was different with Starfire, but the Tamaranian seemed happy enough, so he wasn't about to get involved in her business.

Robin paused for a moment, considering what Cyborg had said. And then he shrugged it off without a second thought. "I'm still going to check for myself." And with that, the Boy Wonder vanished from the living room.

Cyborg sighed, but said nothing. He wasn't about to worry his circuits over those two. Whatever their deal was, it was between Robin and Starfire. Unless he had ever done anything to upset one of them, Cyborg decided to stay uninvolved. As long as it didn't cause problems during missions.

The machine-human hybrid was just about to finish off the level when a strangely perky, gothic voice caused him to jump up in surprise.

"Heh, 'morning."

"GAH-!" Cyborg dropped his game controller as he jumped, causing his virtual vehicle to crash into the dinosaur in front of it. After a moment of light fury, Cyborg sighed, letting it slide. As though that didn't happen millions of times a day anyway. He merely picked the controller up off of the ground and looked up to see Raven's lightly worried face. It was hard to catch, but Cyborg had known her long enough to tell. She was back to her black leotard and blue cape and hood just like the day before, only the hood was still down and not casting that eerie shadow over her face.

"My, don't you sound happy today," Cyborg taunted, causing Raven's breathing to steady a bit in relief. So he wasn't angry.

"Why wouldn't I be?" She asked in her monotone voice, allowing her purple eyes to scan her surroundings. She could feel Starfire's energy below her, and she had heard Robin merely moments ago, but she felt nothing from Beast Boy. "...It's really empty in here." She pointed out, unable to outright ask if Cyborg had seen the Changeling that day.

"Star's training, and her little boyfriend's gone down to see if she's okay. I haven't seen BB all day, though. I figure he's still sleeping. I never saw him leave his room."

"All day...?" Raven repeated, sounding rather uninterested, but her eyes drifted towards the hall in which Starfire's and Beast Boy's rooms were located. No matter how she strained her senses, she couldn't feel any form of pulse from him. "I can't feel him. I know he's lazy and everything, but I don't think even HE is capable of completely stopping his heartbeat for that long."

Cyborg let out a small laugh, starting his game over again. "Maybe he left before we woke up to go tell his story to all the girls that'll listen. He probably used the window and just turned into some bird. You know how he can get after we whoop a butt that big."

Raven found herself feeling the lightest twinge of annoyance but calmed down quickly enough. She didn't need to control her emotions quite as much as she used to, for she had nothing to fear from her father, but her powers were still not under total control, and she didn't want to risk accidentally breaking a piece of Cyborg off. "...Yeah." Was all she said before pulling her hood over her head and casting a dark shadow over her face. She walked towards the kitchen without another word, ready to prepare herself a nice cup of herbal tea.

Though the volume was up rather high and Cyborg's game was far from silent, Raven heard nothing more than her own, rather angery thoughts as she set the teapot on the stove. _It's only been one day and Beast Boy's already off trying to show off to girls? He's only going to make himself look like a total fool by telling one of his ridiculous jokes._

Raven used her powers to over-shadow a cup on a high shelf and cause it to float towards her. Her thoughts, though, didn't cease. _He nearly kills himself and he doesn't even bother to stay at the Tower right after all existence was almost wiped out? Augh. He's probably over-exaggerating the story for a bunch of simpletons right this moment. THEY weren't the ones that risked the necks to try and keep him and the others safe...!_

Raven heard a faint tinkling sound and looked up to find the cup which had been floating towards her beginning to crack. Raven let out a deep breath and caught the cup, relaxing her powers. She took another deep breath to clear her mind and began thinking more logically than emotionally.

_What does it matter? Beast Boy always does this. Why should I care, anyway? I shouldn't._ With that, Raven walked over to a pot of already-hot herbal tea and began to pour some of the liquid into her cup. She did everything very calmly and very placidly, as was typical of her. But as she sipped on her tea, she got the sudden urge to go to her room and use a spell to pin-point Beast Boy's location... Just to make sure he was alright, and her father hadn't planned something a little extra as a goodbye present.

Raven set the half-empty cup down and began walking back to her room, leaving Cyborg to his gaming.

Meanwhile, Robin had finally reached the bottom of the staircase and was met with Starfire's cries of rage, followed by the sounds of object after object being shattered. As much as he begged it not to do so, Robin's heart began pounding. It was pumping blood faster and faster through his system because of the sudden bursts of worry. It was practically an instinct at that point, an instinct which Robin usually didn't notice. Whenever he heard Starfire shout in such a manner, Robin always wanted to make sure Starfire was alright, but usually, he couldn't. He knew she was strong -- a lot stronger than he was-- and he knew that she could stand up to a lot of damage. But something about Starfire was also strangely delicate, and it caused Robin to feel like he should protect her.

Of course, he could never have told her that. Oh, god, no. That... that would involve talking about his _feelings_, and Robin wasn't good at that. It had been hard enough to tell Starfire he thought it was 'cool she was, like, the strongest girl ever' all those days ago.

Augh. Robin still kicked himself in the head whenever he thought of the reaction he had had. He was usually so cool, so calm, but Starfire managed to make him jumpy at the mere mention at the word 'girlfriend'. And it hadn't even been Starfire who had mentioned it! It had been Cyborg mentioning that word around Starfire which had sent the Boy Wonder off.

In truth, part of the reason Robin had never said anything was because he wasn't quite SURE about how he felt about Starfire. Sure, he wanted to protect her. Yes, he thought she was pretty, and he liked most of the things she did, but, those were like brother-sister feelings. He felt angry whenever other boys hit on her, but that was because he didn't want her hurt, that was all. Really.

Robin shook his head violently, freeing his mind of all such thoughts. Starfire was mad, and he needed to find out why. She needed to be happy to fly, and they needed her to fly in case they had a mission. That was it.

With that thought in mind, Robin opened the door to the training hall, giving a timid little "Starfire?" as he did so.

His eyes widened in surprise from behind his mask when he saw what was going on. Starfire was floating up in the air with her eyes blazing a bright, acidic green, shattering thin plate after thin plate as it flew into the air for her. Her aim was amazing; clearly much better than it had been before. After all, Starfire wasn't exactly known for her stellar aim -- she always tended to miss about ten star-bolts and only maybe connect by the eleventh. But at that moment, Starfire was hitting plate after plate, only missing five or six times as she did so.

She let out a cry every time she hit a plate, obviously not hearing Robin's voice over the sound of the shattering. Robin stood for a moment, watching her in surprise. She looked totally brutal, and yet, she was hovering in the air, which meant she was still relatively happy.

"Training Mode: Off," Robin finally said, causing the machine sending the plates to suddenly shut down.

"Huh?" The rage in Starfire's eyes faded quickly, and she floated gently to the ground with a mildly confused expression on her face. She blinked for a moment, but then turned, smiling as she saw Robin standing there and looking oddly nervous. "Oh, greetings, friend Robin!" She said cheerfully, clapping her hands together.

Robin flinched a bit, but he decided to let it slide. She hadn't called him 'friend' Robin in quite a while. "What're you doing training, Star? We just spent all of yesterday fighting. I mean, we saved the world. Isn't that worth a little break...?"

"Oh, I am well aware of our astounding victory, but the battle with the Trigon also gave me the realization that I must train more vigorously. The whole universe was almost thrown into evil, and I was able to do but a very little to help the side of good. I have decided to focus more on training myself, in the case that another bad, bad man appears to threaten my friends."

Robin smiled a bit as she finished her explanation, fighting down the urge to laugh. Starfire really had a pure heart, even if she did express her ideas in the strangest way he had ever heard. "Well, if you're sure," he said, walking up closer to her. "But you should still take a small break, Star. I mean, I know better than anyone what being uptight can get you. We can start Combat Practice again in a few days, but for now, we should just be glad we're all alright."

"Well, if you believe so should be done," Starfire muttered, allowing the glow on her hands to completely dissipate. "I still have much further to go to improve myself."

"How long've you been training, anyway?" Robin asked, looking at the huge amount of shattered plates. The pile of ones hit with the first shot was much, much larger than the other ones.

"Three, perhaps four hours," Starfire said nonchalantly, not entirely positive herself. She tilted her head as she noticed Robin's eyes widen in shock and felt herself grow a bit red in the face. "I am aware that my progress is rather slow and disconcerting, but I am sure that I shall improve if I merely clear my mind of all disturbances."

"Slow?" Robin found himself a bit taken aback by her suggestion. "Star, you've improved more today than you have in over a year of training with me." He laughed a bit, scratching his head. Robin felt rather ashamed that he had not trained Starfire in such a way before. It was as though he had been wasting her talents. "I still don't get it, though. What's brought on this sudden...change?" he looked at her worriedly, hoping his mask caused him to look relaxed instead. It didn't.

Starfire went quiet for a bit, fighting back to urge to tell him of everything she had decided the night before. After a moment, she merely smiled sweetly, and hovered back into the air, using the thought of Robin being happy with Raven. "Oh, I have merely decided to rid myself of a few deliberations which had been plaguing my mind. It has allowed me to access my highest potential, friend Robin, so I will be able to deliver larger cans of the butt whoop, worthy of my position in the Teen Titans."

"I'm pretty impressed," Robin admitted. "This is really going to help us out, Starfire. We need to keep getting better and better, now that Slade's on the loose again. But anyway, why don't we go get lunch now, while Beast Boy's not in the kitchen finishing off the rest of the fridge yet?"

Starfire giggled a bit. "That idea is simply glorious," she said, floating towards the door, ahead of Robin.

Robin chuckled lightly as he watched her float gleefully. But something about what she had said earlier still bothered him. 'Deliberations'? Something had been bothering Starfire up to that point, and he hadn't noticed? How could Trigon's defeat have calmed her down? None of them knew about Raven's father before Slade had shown them the mark of Skath...

With a small sigh, Robin followed her, deciding not to push his luck. Starfire was happy, Raven was alive and well, and his team was still together and stronger than ever. He wasn't about to ruin everything by prying into Starfire's personal business.

As Raven was tracing her jewel over a map of the city, and Robin and Starfire were speaking pleasantly about why Starfire found the taste of mustard so strangely pleasing, the alarm went off. The red lights blared in every room of the Tower, and the loud buzzing sound was heard. "There's something Downtown," Cyborg said,seeing the police report and map on the TV screen. "It's some new guy, really pale, a cape, nobody caught his name. We need to hurry." Cyborg turned around, seeing Robin already putting his motorcycle helmet on, and Starfire already half-way out the door with Raven right beside her. Something in that picture was missing, but Robin was on it.

"Beast Boy! Where are you?" Robin shouted into his communicator, seeing Beast Boy's face appear for only a moment. The pointy-eared boy looked very flustered and annoyed by Robin's disturbance as he appeared on the screen.

"Listen, dude, this ISN'T THE TIME!" Beast Boy shouted, but yelped, leaning back the next second. Quite suddenly, the screen went fuzzy and Cyborg lost the signal before he could even pinpoint the location of their missing member.

"'Isn't the time'? Beast boy! BEAST BOY!" Robin shouted angrily, getting no response. What could have been more important? Augh, that was just like Beast boy, never having his priorities straight!

"So, what do we do?" Cyborg asked, glancing at Robin. Starfire and Raven both looked to their leader as well.

"We ignore it for now, but Beast Boy's getting it once we find him! We need to focus on the guy Downtown. Titans, Go!" Robin jammed his communicator into his belt and led the way out the door, the other three Teen Titans following quickly after. Everything that had been bothering any of the Titans was pushed quickly aside and replaced with a worry for their city's well-being.

Disclaimers:

Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Robin, Cyborg, Silkie, and pretty much everything but the plot at hand belongs to © D. C. Comics/Cartoon Network/Kids WB

_(I want to thank everyone for all the positive reviews, and say that no, this is no one-shot! It's going to get very confusing and possibly even dramatic! _

_Also, you're proving the title of my story correct -- you are all jumping to the wrong conclusions. XD This may or may not be a Star/Rob, BB/Rae, Star/Rae, BB/Rob, Cy/Rae, Cy/Star, Rob/Rae or even BB/Star, so, please, no couple bashing! I love all the couplings, and if you do not support them, I respect you, but please, don't bash in reviews! If you must chew me out, go ahead and e-mail me.)_

Now, gimme reviews!


	3. Chapter three: Sudden Beastly Strength

**Wrong Conclusions**  
_Chapter 3 : Sudden Beastly Strength_

With Robin's motorcycle, Cyborg's car, and Starfire and Raven's ability to fly, it didn't take long for the four Teen Titans to get Downtown. The only problem was once they got there, there was no sign of their pale villain anymore. They got pointed in general directions from people who claimed they saw the attacker, but it took them almost fifteen minutes to find any form of trouble.

Down, right beside China town, a battle was taking place. There were sounds of windows being shattered and of bodies being thrown into things, followed by load roars. All the Titans looked at each other in horror before bolting towards the scene, praying that no one had been hurt all too badly, and that they weren't too late to save any lives. Just as they skidded to a stop and Robin prepared to give his age old battle cry of 'Titans, Go!', they all stopped to stare in pure shock, their voices escaping them.

It was indeed the villain they had been told of. It was a very tall, extremely pale male wearing a long, flowing black cape. He wasn't just pale; in fact, he was completely albino, but his hair was black and slicked back. His golden eyes appeared completely hollow and void of any emotion other than light amusement, and as he smirked, two fangs that reached to his chin were revealed. He looked like a perfect person to play a vampire in a movie, other than his outfit choice. It wasn't medieval, but rather almost futuristic. He wore a tight body suit that lessened and flowed out as it reached his feet, and knee-high boots. He wore gloves as well, everything in a jet black. But he wore belts everywhere: dozens up to his gloves, three on his waist, and four in an x-shape on either leg, as well as a collar around his neck.

But the vampire-looking villain was not what shocked the Titans. What shocked them was the fact that a moment after seeing the bad-guy, a green cheetah came running at him and leaped into the air, turning into an armadillo and curling into a ball as it did so, nailing the baddy right in the stomach. The villain was sent back, right into a wall, while the armadillo flew in the opposite direction, transforming into a green-skinned and green-haired boy with fangs, who adorned a purple and black outfit. His silvery gloves and boots shined slightly in the sunlight as he took the shape closest to human that he could, straightening himself up as he did so, a prominent glare in his dark eyes. Beast Boy looked very fierce and very determined, which left the four other Titans speechless.

Beast Boy did not stop there, though. He leaped into the air and transformed into a small humming bird, and hurled himself right towards the vampire-look-alike. Right before he would have connected with the albino's face, Beast Boy transformed into a very large sea-turtle, which caused the nose of the villain to shatter.

"Aaugh-!" The villain fell to his knees, clasping his nose in agony. Beast Boy fell to the ground in his turtle shape, landing on his back. Knowing he could not move, he transformed into a Gorilla and leaped to his feet. With one final snarl, Beast Boy knocked the villain into the wall with a sickening _crack_.

It was this that finally got one of the Titans to make a sound, and it was Starfire that did so. She let out a loud gasp when the villain crashed into the wall, her eyes widening in horror. For a moment, all the Titans simply gaped in horror, thinking Beast Boy had killed him. To their partial-relief, though, the villain opened his eyes and glared at Beast Boy. "We aren't finished, Changeling," he gasped out, before throwing his hand into the air and causing a lightning bolt to flash from the sky and hit his palm. Beast Boy attempted to prevent this, but by the time he reached the wall the villain had been leaning against, he was gone.

Beast Boy transformed back to his human-like shape, growling in rage for a moment. He had let him get away! That vampire-wannabe had hurt at least five girls, and he let him just get AWAY! No wonder Raven preferred Robin over him. Robin would never have let such a man escape...

"Aah-!" Beast Boy suddenly felt the muscles around his knees give way and cause him to collapse to the ground. He had transformed too many times and it had drained too much of his energy. Beast Boy had been in such a blind rage, he had not noticed how much energy he had wasted.

"Beast Boy!" Starfire flew up to him quickly, the other Titans right behind her. "Are you damaged?" She placed a hand on his shoulder, looking worriedly at her friend.

"I'm fine," Beast Boy panted out, lightly bushing Starfire's hand away. He was thankful for her worry, more than she could have ever known, but he felt defeated and didn't need anyone touching him at that very moment. He had only fought the vampire-look alike on his way to try and prove to himself that he was every bit as strong as Robin, only to find that he had been wrong. Robin was the better man after all, no matter how he tried to prove that truth wrong.

"Dude, that was amazing!" Cyborg said with a metallic hand on his head. "BB, since when are you THAT powerful? If your evil half fought like that, I wouldn't've been able to kick his butt!"

"I have to say, I'm just as surprised," Robin said in an awe-filled voice. _It looks like the battle with Trigon didn't only effect Starfire..._

"Yeah, but I still lost," Beast Boy said bitterly. "I couldn't stop him, and now we have some crazy killer on the loose. Augh, I'm such a LOSER!" He threw his fist into the air, wanting to smash it into the cement beneath him, but suddenly finding that his arm was no longer under his control. He opened his eyes and looked at his gloved hand, noting that it was glowing black with Raven's aura.

"Beast Boy, you fought better than you ever have before. If he wasn't able to teleport the way he does, you would have won," Raven stated in a mildly-irritated tone. "Now stop being an idiot. Your body's exhausted and breaking your hand won't help anyone."

Beast Boy wanted to say something happy, or at least sarcastic back to Raven. Something like 'Well, if I get a cast, I might be able to hit him over the head with it. For all we know, that's his one weakness!'. But Beast Boy couldn't. As the Changeling looked up at Raven, he found his voice caught in his throat. The realizations he had made the night before were still haunting him.

"...You're right," He finally said, feeling Raven let go of his hand. Only she did not do this out of relief; she did so out of sudden shock.

"...What was that?" Cyborg asked, unable to believe it any more than Raven or Robin.

"She's right. Letting my anger out on the ground isn't going to do anyone any good," Beast Boy let out a sheepish laugh, turning away from Raven to look towards the damage he had caused. Smashed windows, broken walls, demolished signs, scathed pavement... "I did enough damage as it is, anyway. I guess I really need to control myself better, huh?" He gave a forced smile, looking back to his friends. The smile became even more strained as he saw Raven silently land beside a thoroughly-confused Robin.

"Your control is most impressive as it is, Beast Boy," Starfire said, causing Beast Boy to remember she was right beside him. She was smiling proudly, as though he were Wormy who had learned not to eat Cyborg's bolts. "The loss you have suffered was not of your accord, and you should find pride in what you have accomplished."

Beast Boy blinked for a moment. Starfire always had the nicest things to say but he never really...took any notice to them before. She was usually complimenting everyone, but this was one of the rare times he had fought on his own. For some reason, her words got through to him, even if Raven's, Robins, and Cyborg's had not.

"...Yeah," He said, finally able to muster a true grin, his lower fang protruding slightly. "Well, I did some major bad-guy bashing today!" Beast Boy said proudly, standing up and beginning to sound like his usual self. "I say we all go and celebrate!"

"Oh, glorious!" Starfire said excitedly, clapping her hands together. "May I suggest the pizza and the night of frightening movies?"

"I... Don't see why not," Robin finally said, scratching the back of his head. For a moment, he could have sworn Beast Boy had been on the verge of a break down, but that didn't seem to be the case now.

"Aw, yeah!" Cyborg cried, punching his metallic fist into the air. "BB and I can rent the movie. We should get that new one about the vampires..."

"Augh, no more vampires," Beast Boy muttered, getting a sickened look. "Drinking blood's even sicker than eating meat, dude!"

Cyborg laughed a bit, as Starfire floated up into the air, her face filled with glee. "I shall bring us the pizza which we may consume!"

All four other members twitched in unison at that idea, Raven being the first to speak up with a nervous expression. "Uh, Star? Maybe I should come with you to order...Your tastes always are a lot different from ours."

"Wonderful, friend Raven!" Starfire said, just as joyfully, watching Raven float up into the air beside her.

Robin laughed a bit, watching Cyborg and Beast Boy walking off, and Starfire and Raven beginning to float away. "I guess I'll try and research a bit on this new guy while you're all getting ready, then," Robin said to himself, walking calmly to his motorcycle, more than ready to take a day off after Starfire and Beast Boy's strange behavior.

Disclaimers:

Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Robin, Cyborg, Silkie, and pretty much everything but the plot at hand and the vampire-dudebelongs to © D. C. Comics/Cartoon Network/Kids WB

Now, gimme reviews! But bashing couplings in a NO-NO.


	4. Chapter four: Seat Switching

**Wrong Conclusions**  
_Chapter four: The Consequence of Seat Switching  
_

Within the hour, a movie was chosen as were a couple of pizzas. Seeing as that Beast Boy was the 'man of the hour', Starfire and Raven had both agreed that for once, they could splurge on more then one pizza and had gotten a meat-lovers for Robin and Cyborg and a nice vegetarian for Beast Boy. Raven usually didn't eat too much pizza to begin with, and Starfire ate anything if she was allowed to add her own personal toppings to it, so their choices weren't an issue. The movie itself was a horror flick, as per usual, but Beast Boy had made sure that it had nothing to do with any vampires. Every time Cyborg had mentioned the word, Beast Boy had come close to hurling.

Beast Boy and Cyborg had been the first to return to the Titans Tower. They had popped the cassette into the VCR and then went to forcefully drag Robin away from what he had claimed to be a breakthrough in their thief's identity. Starfire and Raven had appeared not ten minutes later with the pizzas and set them onto the table.

Now, the movie was about to begin, and Cyborg stood up in front of Robin (who was moodily tapping his fingers on his arms, which were crossed over his chest) to tell the Titans something about the movie. "This here's a brand-spanking-new horror flick. It's said that someone had a heart attack just watchin' it! It's all about zombies and ghosts -- but no vampires 'cause widdle BB's too scawed," Cyborg flashed a challenging glance at Beast Boy, who was leaning over the couch to watch Cyborg's summary with Raven and Starfire right behind him. To everyone surprise, Beast Boy just gave a weak laugh and scratched the back of his head.

"Er...yeah. Anyway!" Cyborg continued, tossing the box carelessly to the side and sitting downon Robin's left. "C'mon! Sit down everyone, so we can start this thing!"

"Great. Another night of meaningless horror movies. How fun," Raven muttered to herself, watching Starfire float towards the couch. To her surprise, though, Starfire sat on the other side of Cyborg, rather than next to Robin. And what surprised her even further was that Beast Boy, after giving Robin a strange look-over, smiled meekly and sat right beside Starfire.

Robin, too, seemed a bit taken-aback by this. Starfire had always sat right beside him during horror movies... She usually used his cloak to shield herself whenever she got scared. He looked back at Raven, who merely shrugged and floated forward to take the last available seat, which was next to Robin.

Cyborg, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice the strange actions and merely continued on with the merriment. "About time. Let's go!" Cyborg pulled out a remote and pressed a button to turn the lights off, then another one to turn the video on. Cyborg was into the movie instantly.Within mere minutes, Robin was lost in the movie as well, where as Raven was already beginning to pull out a black book and pretending to ignore the movie best she could. She was thankful for times when she could spend time with her friends and all, but horror movies simply didn't appeal to her, especially after that time she had been frightenined into losing her powers.

Beast Boy and Starfire, though, didn't have their attention averted quite so quickly. Both looked from the corner of their eyes at Robin and Raven sitting next to one another, both feeling stabs of jealousy and disappointment as they did so. Thankfully, it was dark, so none of the titans noticed that the two were looking -- not even Starfire and Beast Boy. As far as the two knew, the other was lost in the movie already.

_As much as I hate to admit it, they do look good together..._ Beast Boy growled at himself, mostly for being so jealous of Robin. _Dude, I gotta get over this! They like each other! Hell, they may even love each other! It's not like I can blame her -- Robin's only, like, a million times cooler than me! And I can't blame Robin, either. I mean, if I fell for Raven, why couldn't he? Man, he probably made a move on her a long time ago, too. I should've been quicker! For all I know, it's all it would've taken for her to at least like me... _

As Beast Boy mentally wounded himself further, Starfire merely let out and a small sigh and looked up at the movie. Beast Boy was clenching his hand into a fist, ready to literally hit himself in the face when he heard her sigh. She was right beside him, after all, and he needed something to snap him out of his mental self-abuse.

So once he heard her sigh, Beast Boy turned his head a bit to look at Starfire's face, which was just barely visible in the dim light emitted from the television screen. It seemed to rip his heart in half to just look at the poor Tamaranian. She was usually so happy and peppy, but her eyes were so depressed and lonely at that particular moment...The look didn't suit her. At all.

_What's up with Star...?_ Beast Boy asked himself, studying her for a few more moments from the corner of his eye. Within a second, he mentally smacked himself in the face for not realizing earlier. _Of course! Star's totally got the hots for Robin! Man, I forgot she likes him so much with the whole Raven thing going on. She must hate seein' 'em together more than I do. I wish I could make her feel better... It isn't the same when she's sad... _

"...What is wrong, Beast Boy?" Starfire whispered, turning her head very slightly to look at Beast Boy. He had an uncomfortable look on his face, and she didn't think it was caused by the movie. "Are you positive you are unharmed?"

"Huh?" The Changeling blinked a bit, before shaking his head vigorously to rid it of any thoughts he had been having a moment before. "Yeah, fine, fine! Just kinda tired from today. Must've spaced out!" Beast Boy let out his normal, high-pitched laugh while scratching the back of his head. Cyborg growled darkly and hissed a 'Shut it, will you?', causing Beast Boy to go completely silent.

"...If you claim so to be true," Starfire said quietly and went back to watching the movie. With a small sigh and one last glance towards Starfire's sad face, Beast Boy finally began to do the same.

Two hours later, the movie finally ended. Raven had managed to ignore the entire thing, where as Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy were gaping in horror. Starfire was clinging to Beast Boy's arm and whimpering into it, although apparently, Beast Boy did not notice she was there.

"...Ugh, I remember why I hate zombies so much," Robin went a slightly paler color than usual, and Cyborg did the same while fighting an urge to pass out.

"Dude, that was sick...!" Cyborg made a motion to vomit, but seemed to stop himself in time. Raven still scooted away just in case, though.

"Oh, man, maybe vampires WOULD'VE been better-" But Beast boy's commentary was cut off as his attention was drawn to the arm Starfire was clinging to. She had let out a whimper and dug her nails into his arm.

"Are the walking undead no longer on the screen...?" She managed to squeak out, causing Beast Boy and Cyborg to laugh a bit.

"It's only a movie, Star! And yeah, it's over," the Changeling said with a laugh, as Cyborg joined in. Starfire whimpered again while hesitantly pulling her face away, but refusing to un-dig her nails from Beast Boy's arm.

"But...but I fear they may return!" She cried.

"Yeah, Star, you can deal with vampire-boys flyin' around without so much as yawning, but when it's a guy in a lot of make-up and rubber, you head for the hills," Beast Boy taunted.

"Ooh, don't let thee scary make-believe-man get me! Out of my way, sludge beast, I'm hiding from a guy with make-up!" Cyborg imitated Starfire, causing her to smile a bit at her own silliness.

As Beast Boy and Cyborg continued to lightly taunt Starfire's fear of movies but her lack of any fear during battle, Raven and Robin both looked over at the three, having slightly different reactions. They didn't feel like teasing Starfire at all...

Robin accidentally crushed a piece of crust he was holding in his hand, a sudden wave of anger washing over him. He didn't know why, but every second Starfire continued to hold onto Beast Boy's arm seemed to send a new wave of rage pulsating through his veins. It shouldn't have been a big deal; Starfire hugged people all the time and it had never bothered him before. But there was some form of territorial voice going off in Robin's head, telling him that Starfire was supposed to be clinging to HIM, to HIS arm --not Beast Boy's. She always sat next to him during horror movies for protection. Why... why was the suddenly avoiding him and going to Beast Boy instead?

In Raven's head, a small twinge of annoyance went off. She didn't know why, really, and merely assumed it had to do with Beast Boy and Cyborg's taunting. After all, she had not had it any better when they had made fun of her fears. They had no right to go after Starfire in such a way. _But then again, Starfire was been asking for it by sitting right between Beast Boy and Cyborg, rather than Robin..._

_...Why WAS she sitting next to Beast Boy rather than Robin?_

Raven blinked a bit as her eyes focused in on Starfire's hands on Beast Boy's arm. She felt another annoyed twinge in her system. "Nngh," She let out an uncomfortable sound, suddenly slamming her book shut, and causing Beast Boy and Cyborg to go tacit in mid-joke.

"I'm going to bed," The half-demon said calmly. "Everyone else probably should too, with that vampire-guy running around." With that, she began to float off towards her room.

Robin hopped to his feet instantly, happy to have an opportunity to break Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Starfire up. "Raven's right. We should all go to bed after that fight today. Especially you, Beast Boy," the Boy Wonder gave a smile; half because Beast Boy had done so well that day, and half because Starfire had finally let go of the Changeling's arm. He didn't know why, but the latter caused a cool feeling of relaxation to take over his body.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Beast Boy let out a small laugh, hopping to his feet. Cyborg stood up as well, and Starfire simply hovered a few feet above the couch.

"Mm," Robin gave a small nod before turning to walk off. "I think I'll call it a night for now, too. Good night," He waved lightly to his friends, only Starfire waving back. A few moments later there were two recognizable 'Fwoosh' sounds, as Robin's door opened and closed behind him, Raven's door doing the same right after it.

"I should go catch some Z's, too," Cyborg said with a small yawn. "All that chasin' after you was pretty annoying, BB," He snickered lightly, walking off before Beast Boy could think of a retort.

That left Beast Boy feeling pretty frazzled, and he crossed his arms over his chest to pout at the robotic titan's back. "Stupid Cyborg always having to have the last stupid shot because he's so stu-"

"...Are you truly alright, Beast Boy?"

"Huh?" Beast Boy turned a bit, to look into Starfire's eyes. She was giving him an uncomfortably worried-filled glance, and he backed up a bit out of instinct. _Why's she starin' at me like that...? ...Or does she always, but I never really bothered to notice before...? Aw, man. _Beast Boy's thoughts were cut off by the sounds of Cyborg's door opening and closing behind him. "Uh, of course, Star! I mean, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, after the battle with the Trigon, you have had the Querchok eyes."

"...The what?" By now, Beast Boy was more than accustomed to Starfire's Tamaranian terms, but he could have sworn he'd never heard THAT one before.

"The Querchok is a creature on my planet whose eyes are always filled with sadness and despair, despite its mouth always being up-turned into a smile. When someone's eyes are filled with the same sadness, though a smile is on the face, that is the term we use on Tammaran," Starfire blinked innocently, as though she assumed Beast Boy would have known this.

Beast Boy merely twitched. _Man, Starfire's a lot sharper than any of us give her credit for... _"Really, Star, I'm fine," Beast Boy finally said. "I just...started t'think a little more, y'know? And since I'm not used to doing that, it's making my head hurt," He laughed a bit, Starfire giggling as well. She was one of the few people who appreciated his jokes...whenever she understood them, anyway.

"Well, if that is what you say," Starfire began to float towards her room, but out of nowhere, Beast Boy's gloved hand gently caught her wrist. Starfire's eyes widened and she turned back to look at Beast Boy's strangely anxious face. Starfire had no idea, but Beast Boy was dying to know if she was going through the same thing he was. If she was feeling the same pain he felt over Raven's loss, only over Robin's. It may have been a 'misery loves company' thing, but then again, making Starfire feel better could've let Beast Boy forget about Raven, and they could both be their old selves again.

"But...What about you? I mean, I heard Robin talking about you getting totally awesome at your Starbolts all of a sudden, and your eyes are like Kweerchak...Quarche...That thing you said's too!" Beast Boy hadn't meant to be so open about it, but he hadn't thought before blurting everything out.

He flushed darkly and quickly let go of Starfire's wrist as suddenly as he had caught it. Beast Boy spoke up again before Starfire could have replied to his prying question. "Sorry! None of my business. Night, Star!" Beast Boy ran off, feeling horribly embarrassed with what had just come over him, leaving Starfire alone in the living room before she could have even said 'goodnight' back.

Starfire sighed once he was gone, turning towards the window and rubbing her arm lightly. "So, it is obvious that I, too, have the Querchok eyes...?" She asked her reflection, getting no response other than another small sigh escaping her lips.

Disclaimers:

Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Robin, Cyborg, Silkie, and pretty much everything but the plot at hand belongs to © D. C. Comics/Cartoon Network/Kids WB

Now, gimme reviews! And such!


	5. Chapter five: 'Them? A DATE'

**Wrong Conclusions**_  
__Chapter five: 'Them? A DATE?'_

It had been a hard week for the Titans; Johnny Rancid had escaped from prison and had gallivanted around town with a monster truck, which had been much more 'monster' than 'truck'. Though naturally, by the week's end, he had been back in jail. But Johnny had not been the only surprise; to everyone's amazement, Starfire had continued her rigorous training program, and what was more amazing, Beast Boy had begun to train along-side her. Robin, Raven, and Cyborg had stayed quiet on the matter, assuming the two Titans were still rather traumatized by the whole Trigon attack.

But now it was a Saturday, and Robin was more than glad that no villains were attacking. He had planned everything the night before; he would walk up to Starfire and casually ask if she wanted to go see the aquarium, since she was still rather amazed with human aquatic life. If she refused, he would convince her to come. Once there, he would nonchalantly bring up the topic of her training, until he was finally sure as to what had brought the sudden change upon her. It was the perfect plan! Besides, it also gave him the opportunity to be alone with Starfire for a while. It seemed like ages since the two of them had had any alone time together. In fact, it seemed almost as though Starfire had been avoiding him to a certain extent...

Robin was not the only one, either. Though Raven wasn't prepared to admit it, she was beginning to miss most of Beast Boy's horrid jokes and odd ways of showing affection. He had gone silent the moment she entered a room all week. At first, Raven had welcomed this, but now...now it simply seemed wrong. After all their days of being Titans together, this was the first time Beast Boy had given up attempting to make her smile, and though she didn't appreciate the way he did it, she DID appreciate that fact that he at least TRIED to do it. Now that he had stopped, it wasn't nearly as...well, entertaining around the Tower anymore.

Though she usually reveled in the silence, there was something very cold about the silence ensued from Beast Boy. And because of this, Raven prepared herself for a serious talk with him that night. She had had a few of them with him before: one after she had accidentally lost control of her powers, a second after the chemicals had unleashed a beast within him, another after Malchior had betrayed her, and the final two which had caused Raven the most pain -- the ones that came after Terra's betrayal, and then loss.

Raven sat up in her bed that morning, thinking all of those conversations over in her head. The first three had ended up as usual; with a laugh or a joke which reminded her why she didn't attempt serious chats with him. But the one after Terra's loss...That time Beast Boy had been unable to find anything funny to say. In fact, it had been all he could do not to snap at Raven in blind rage.

Raven looked down at the folds in her blanket, remembering some of the conversation which had caused her so much pain.

"'_Loss'? 'LOSS'?" _Beast Boy's voice rang in her head._ "Raven, the ONE PERSON who was willing to understand and accept me is GONE! I know you're used to living life as an outcast, too, but as least you LOOK relatively human! It's not exactly easy having green skin and pointy ears, y'know! All you have to worry about is having paler skin than usual and a jewel in your forehead! Other than that, you're perfect! Perfect! If you wanted to, you could get along with anyone you wanted! But not me... No one's willing to accept someone with this freaky a shade of skin color and fangs and pointy ears. The Doom Patrol did, but I was kicked out of that. The Titans did, but what do any of you really KNOW about me? Oh, that I can change into animals, that I like to tell jokes? That isn't exactly much..."_

Raven's nails groped at her blankets, remembering what she had said to that long monologue of Beast Boy's welt-up feelings. _"I would think you'd be used to it by now, Beast Boy. I am." _She had glared as well. At the time, she had believed that Beast Boy had merely been making a drama queen of himself.

"_Raven..." _Beast Boy's voice had gone cold, taken aback that she could have said such a thing._ "You were BORN that way. You have no idea how much I wish I was... How I wish I had never tasted being normal and liked by everyone. Having that ripped away from you... you have no idea how painful it is. I doubt you ever will. Until you find someone who understands you the way Terra understood me, and is willing to accept you with all of your faults and weird ways, please Raven, don't compare yourself to me. Seriously." _With that, Beast Boy had slid his door closed on Raven's face, and had gone back to his room.

Raven let out a small sigh, standing up from her bed. That memory wasn't one of her favorites, but she treasured it nonetheless. After all, it was when she had learned that there was so much more to Beast Boy than she had ever seen before. The only other serious conversation the two had had after had been because of Malchior. Raven knew then what it was like to have one's heart ripped out. True, that conversation wasn't quite as 'serious' as the one before, but it had also been the first time she had hugged Beast Boy. Part of her regretted ever doing so, for after that point, he became much more open when it came to touching her.

"Today," She told herself as she floated in front of her gothic mirror. The pulled out her blue cloak and hood and attached them to her shoulders, pulling the hood over her head as she did so. Today was the day she was going to have another serious conversation with Beast Boy, and find out where all that negative energy had been coming from.

She floated out of her room and into the kitchen, to find Cyborg frying bacon. Before she could say anything, the other bird of the Tower made himself known.

"Morning, Cyborg, Raven," Robin said casually to his two friends, though he had somewhat of a lack of breath to his voice, as though he had been running around. "Have either of you seen Starfire? I looked everywhere, and it's like she's vanished. Her communicator signal seems jammed, too."

"Well-" Cyborg began, but he was cut off by Raven.

"I haven't heard or seen her all day. I can't really feel her energy around the Tower either, now that I notice it...Beast Boy's either. Do you think they're in trouble?"

"Actually-" Cyborg attempted again, but was cut off by the Boy Wonder this time.

"They would have at least tried to make a connection with us through the communicator. Neither's been active for a while, though Beast Boy's signal is just as jammed-"

"They're on a _date_!" Cyborg suddenly shouted, causing both Raven and Robin's eyes to widen in surprise. Robin twitched a bit, almost breaking his Communicator as he did so.

"That isn't funny, Cyborg."

"Who's joking?" Cyborg rolled his one human eye, lifting his shoulders in disbelief. "You saw the way the two were actin' around each other all week! I saw Star with something other than her uniform on this morning, and same for BB, and BB said they were going out. It looked like a date to me – they were even holding hands-"

Quite suddenly, there were two very loud shattering sounds. The first was the sound of Robin crushing his Communicator in his fist. The second was in the kitchen, the sound of the toaster being blown up into many of small pieces. The jewel in Raven's forehead was glowing the same black color as the small metal shards left behind from the blast.

"You-...You probably got it wrong. They're probably going to get lunch or something," Robin said with a small, forced laugh, looking almost like the Joker as he attempted a smile.

"Naw, man," Cyborg said, as though Robin were insane. "Both of 'em dressed up. I seriously don't think they'd bother to do that if it were just the normal stuff, ya'know? What's the big deal with you two anyway?" He lifted an eyebrow, looking from one to the other. Raven looked as though she were about to vomit, and Robin was twitching visibly behind his mask.

Robin swallowed nervously, thinking it over. A second later, he merely turned around, muttering something about fixing his communicator.

Cyborg blinked in confusion and looked down at Raven for an answer instead. "I don't see why he's freakin' out so much. I mean, since you two are together, it shouldn't be a problem-"

"Together?" Another explosion. This time, it was the oven that had to be sacrificed amidst Raven's rage. "Why would you think that Robin and I would be 'together'?"

"...You're not? Man, after the Trigon thing, I was sure you two were...y'know. You ran right to him and everything. I mean, we may have been knocked down, but we all saw how you walked right past me, Star, and BB to get to him."

For a moment, Raven went silent, thinking what had been said over. She hadn't even realized before...True, Robin had been the one she ran to, but that was because he was the leader! He had always been the one who defeated the villains, and at that moment she needed the most powerful one. Her father had been too powerful.

"Raven?" Cyborg repeated, but got nothing but a swishing of a cloak and a small 'I need to talk to Robin' in response before Raven walked off. Once she was gone, Cyborg sighed and turned around to begin fixing the oven and the toaster, muttering rather insulting things about 'those damn teens' and their 'stupid hormones'.

As Raven walked off, she calmly walked towards Robin's door, getting ready to talk to him about this. If it was he who started the rumor, she wanted to get things strait with him. She was no one's girlfriend -- that would bother their team and only cause problems, and she didn't need to deal with that. Besides, she didn't feel that way about him, right...?

For some reason, a memory of Beast Boy saying _'C'mon, Rae! Smile! For me?'_ flashed across Raven's mind. She blinked for a moment in confusion, and then shook her head to rid herself of it. That was odd, to say the least.

"Robin," Raven said in her monotone voice as she slid his door open, to see that he already had one foot out of his window. He looked back at her with a desperate expression filled guilt and attempted to pull his foot back, but merely ended up tripping over his table.

"Were you... were you trying to go out to spy on Starfire and Beast Boy?" Raven asked, fighting back the urge to smile at the sight of the Boy Wonder with a desk-full of junk on the top of his head. But she quickly forgot it once she realized that WAS, in fact, what Robin had been preparing to do. "That's an invasion of their privacy, and though I usually wouldn't say anything about Beast Boy, Starfire can make her own decisions."

"I...I just have a bad feeling!" Robin claimed, standing up and brushing some paper-clips from his spiky hair. "With their Communicators off and mine out of commission I can't help but worry, okay? Besides, what if someone attacks?"

"We can handle them ourselves. Cyborg and I are more than enough in most cases."

"What if Silkie starts burping up, then? Only Starfire and Beast Boy know how to keep that thing under control."

"Silkie's been asleep all day. I doubt he's about to wake up now."

"Then...Then..." Robin stammered, looking for some form of reasoning to explain his behavior.

Raven rolled her eyes and let out a small sigh. "Fine, just admit that you're jealous, and I'll go with you. My Communicator still works so if something DOES happen, Cyborg can contact us."

"Jealous?" Robin's voice cracked as his face burned a bright red. "Why would I be jealous? I'm not jealous!"

"Fine, if you won't admit it..." Raven began, beginning to turn and leave the room, but Robin caught her by the arm before she could do so.

"Raven, I DO have a bad feeling. Let's just...Let's just see what's going on, okay? And then we can leave them alone. I last got a signal around that park I brought Starfire to... Around the city Aquarium."

Raven lifted an eyebrow and looked Robin's face over. She knew him better than most because of the time she had spent in his head, and let out a sigh of defeat. If she DIDN'T go, he'd probably do something all of the team would regret.

"Fine."

With that, the two birds left the Titan Tower in search of Beast boy and Starfire.

Disclaimers:

Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Robin, Cyborg, Silkie, and pretty much everything but the plot at hand belongs to © D. C. Comics/Cartoon Network/Kids WB

Comments, please!


	6. Chapter six: Echoed Farewells

_Wrong Conclusions  
Chapter six: Echoed Farewells_

For a long time, Raven and Robin went from roof to roof, looking for their tanned and green friends. The entire time, Raven continued to tell Robin how silly he was acting, and how the two were likely just shopping together, while Robin ignored all of her insults and accusations. Finally, after almost thirty minutes of travel, they saw two familiar figures stepping out of an Amusement Park. Robin blinked for a moment from his hiding place at the very top of a Farris Wheel, looking around.

"No wonder I couldn't reach them. All these electronics are jamming the signal," He muttered to himself, before getting a closer look at Beast Boy and Starfire. He twitched mildly as he noticed that the two had even changed cout of their uniforms. Beast Boy had put on a pair of normal black jeans, and a purple-and-black sweater, making him look considerably less silly than he usually did with his Doom Patrol uniform on. Starfire, though she still wore her Tamarranian armor, was wearing somewhat of a light-purple sweater that reached up to her elbows instead, and a matching knee-high skirt, causing her to look considerably more innocent than usual.

"Okay. They went on a Roller Coaster or two. Whoop-dee-do," Raven said sarcastically from behind Robin, her hood covering her face. "Can we go now, oh paranoid leader?"

"Not yet!" Robin hissed, looking at Starfire laugh at something Beast Boy had said, and the green boy blushing a moment later. The Boy Wonder gritted his teeth, wishing he could hear what the two superheroes were saying to one another...

"You did not expect for it to have been a true villain?" Starfire asked Beast Boy, hugging a tiger-plushie he had won her. They had been talking about the strange villain attack from a few days ago, and Starfire found the story to be very amusing from Beast Boy's point of view.

"Well, no," Beast Boy said honestly, blushing even darker than he had a moment before. "He came into the hospital and started to bother the doctors so I tried t'calm the dude down! Next thing I knew, when my back was turned, I was sailing right into a wall!"

Starfire giggled once again, finding the mental image amusing, knowing that Beast Boy was currently safe and unharmed. A second later, though, confusion overtook her. "Beast Boy, why is it you were in the hospital? Usually, people go there when they are wounded. Were you in pain after the attack of the Trigon?"

Beast Boy blinked for a second, not having expected Starfire to ask such a question. _Yeah, I was in pain, but not in the way you're thinking of, Star…_ For a moment, he scratched the back of his head, wondering whether or not he should tell her the truth. He looked her over for a second, trying to decide. Her green eyes stared at him in worry and confusion, and her lips were pouting in mild distress. Without realizing it, Beast Boy's face began to grow red again.

"...Beast Boy? Your face is turning the same tint as friend Raven's when she finds something she does not like within her room."

"Huh?" Beast Boy stared blankly for a moment, and then began to laugh, tearing his eyes away from the Tammaranian. "It's nothing, I just thought I saw something. About the hospital, I was there mostly because I wanted to go visit some sick people. I used to do that a lot before we were big superheroes and had to run around the way we do. But after Trigon's attack, I decided to do it again. It made me appreciate life a lot more, y'know?" He smiled at himself, feeling proud for having done something he thought was in the past. He loved kids, and sick ones needed a good laugh a lot more than others. "It was a good thing, too, because that Vampire-dude wanted something from one of the kids. If I wasn't there, I don't think we would've made it in time."

"What is it that he had wanted to obtain?" Starfire asked. And a second later, she added. "And what is this 'Vampire' of which you all continue to call this villain?"

Now it was Beast Boy's turn to laugh. After all of the horror movies he had forced the Titans to sit through, Starfire still didn't know what a vampire was? She was far too innocent for her own good.

Starfire blinked for a second, feeling a very light blush beginning to appear on her cheeks. "...I was not aware that what I had uttered was meant to be taken as something entertaining..."

"Huh?" Beast Boy stopped in his laughter for a moment to see that he had embarrassed the girl. He coughed for a moment and rubbed his arm a bit, feeling awkward. For some reason, embarrassing Starfire simply wasn't the same as embarrassing Robin, Cyborg, or Raven. He felt almost guilty for doing so. After all, she didn't know too much about their culture. Why should she have paid attention to any of his horror movies, anyway?

"Er, no, you didn't say anything. I just saw somethin' really funny," He lied, before beginning an explanation. "Well, I have no idea what the guy wanted, really, but whatever it was, he wanted it from a certain kid. I gave him a Communicator, just in case. As for what a vampire is, they're these big myth things we have from Romany."

Starfire stared at Beast Boy in confusion for a moment. "...Ro...many?"

"Yeah, Romany. It's a country in Europe or Antarctica or something, vere dey all speek like diiis!" Beast Boy did his best to impersonate the Romanian accent. Starfire tilted her head at him before pouting further in confusion.

"But Beast Boy, is that country not called 'Romania?'"

Beast Boy twitched. She was right.

"Well, yeah, but you can call it Romany, too," He said, finding that it was very easy to not seem like a total fool in front of Starfire. She not only believed everything he said, but she also knew what it felt like to be embarrassed. She was nothing like cold, cool Raven, who never fumbled for a word. "Either way, Vampires have long fangs and are supposed to drink the blood of other people. It's all pretty much these creatures based off of Vampire Bats. Bats drink blood, too, but these Vampire things are totally fake. If they bite someone, that person's supposed to turn into their soulless zombie slave and...Star?"

Beast Boy stopped, noticing that Starfire had paused in her floating. She was now on her feet, shivering a bit with every word said. Her green eyes were brimming with tears of horror.

Shrieking laughter and words as cold as ice were echoing all across Starfire's mind. She remembered hands all over her body, in places she did not like being touched, and the scars they had left behind at her early age. She remembered every scar, as though they were back on her body, once again being inflicted by claws, fangs, and whips. She remembered all the horrible things she had seen within the walls, all of the horrible screams of agony and death she had heard. These memories caused tears to flow down her cheeks and for her knees to feel weak. Her heart began to pound faster than it had before, and she began to emit whimpering sounds without even realizing it. She remembered everything, though she had spent so long trying to forget.

"Starfire!" Beast Boy ran back to her, feeling very flustered suddenly. Great. He'd said something stupid! Augh, when was he going to learn to shut his mouth...? "Star, I'm-I'm really sorry! I have no idea what I said, but I didn't mean it, really! I'll make it up to you!"

Starfire swallowed for air, trying to find the strength to talk. Finally, she found her voice. It was barely more than a squeak as she spoke. "N-No, B-Beast Boy, i-it was nothing you had u-uttered which had ca-caused me to be-behave so. M-Memories of s-similar creatures plague my m-mind..."

"..Similar creatures? Star, you...you can't be serious," Beast Boy said, laughing a bit. But his laugh was more nervous than anything. If huge insect-women who ate only Tammaranians in their chrysalis form existed, why couldn't vampires? But still, it wasn't something Beast Boy wanted to accept. "Vampire's aren't real."

"I-I know!" Starfire persisted, feeling tears fall down her cheeks. She felt very foolish for overreacting the way she had, but she couldn't simply shake it off, as she hoped she would have. "But you-your mention of the robber...H-He looks so m-much like one of them-!"

"Starfire, calm down...It's okay..." Beast Boy said, now quietly, as he put his arms up in front of him to try and show her that everything was alright. "You're okay now..." As a friendly gesture, Beast Boy wrapped his arm around Starfire's shoulder. He hoped it would have snapped her back into at least some form of reality. But his ears drooped, as she did nothing more than shake her head to and fro, trying to force the voices from her innocent mind.

"Star...Tell me what's wrong."

He whispered this closely into her ear, hugging her to him as he did so. In all of his years with the Titans, he had never seen Starfire in such a vulnerable state. She had always been powerful and giddy, or confused and curious. But never frightened to the point of crying, and in truth, it caused Beast Boy's heart to speed up in fear as well. After all, if there was something out there that could cause Starfire such horror, who knew what was in store for them.

"Please, Starfire, tell me..." He repeated, his green ears drooping even further.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Starfire's breath began to steady, though her face remained puffy and pink. Her shivering did not stop, but it lost some of its zeal. She took three steady breaths and gave a weak nod to Beast Boy's request.

"A-Alright, I sh-shall tell you."

The birds twittering above their heads in the orange and red leaves heard nothing. All they saw was the scene of two strange beings becoming closer, hugging, whispering to one another. And to the two birds atop the Ferris Wheel were no different.

"He-he's HUGGING her!" Robin shouted, surprising even himself. He saw only their backs, so he had not seen Starfire's tears. Only that Beast Boy had gotten close to her face, and then wrapped one of his arms around her. "He's hugging her! Right in the middle of the day, where anyone can see them! He probably told her something, lied to her. Augh, I'm going to kill Beast Boy when I see him, I swear-"

As Robin continued his threats and plans on what to do once Beast Boy returned home, Raven merely stared at the two as they slowly, ever so slowly, began to walk off, step-in-step. She felt them. She felt Starfire's face growing hot, her heart pounding, her gasps for breath. She felt Beast Boy's chest tightening, and him yearning for something around Starfire. How...how could this have happened? How could those two -- of all the people in the universe -- have gotten together?

And most importantly, why was she, Raven, angry? She wasn't angry at anyone in particular. She didn't want to hurt Starfire or Beast Boy (Though she felt like tearing Robin a new one if he didn't shut up). No, no...Raven felt angry with herself. She felt angry with herself for not having realized her feelings sooner. All of the times Beast Boy had made her laugh, all of the times he had caused her heart to freeze, all of the times he had caused her to worry ceaselessly, and Raven had not realized.

For a moment, Raven felt a sting in her eyes. Water...? No. No crying here. Not now. It was dangerous. She had to stay together. Together. Augh, Robin just wouldn't shut up!

"Give up!" Raven suddenly barked, causing Robin to cease in his endless banter. "They're together, okay? We see that now. Starfire likes Beast Boy, Beast Boy likes Starfire. As long as they don't end up having kids running around the tower, who cares?"

Robin blinked for a second, looking at the shadowy figure. Slowly, he turned his heel to look back down towards Starfire and Beast Boy. Starfire was so calm around him. Beast Boy was just as calm around her. He didn't feel ashamed, putting his arm around her. He didn't feel like he was endangering the team. Beast Boy had gall that Robin had never been able to find, not even when he and Starfire had been alone together. He deserved Starfire more. He had won.

"...You're right," Robin muttered quietly, forcing himself to look away from the two down below. "...We should let them get back to their date."

"Yeah, we should," Raven said in a moody tone.

But even though the two birds had agreed, neither moved. They both looked down longingly at the pair below. Both of them shared feelings of heartache and self loathing at that moment, for not having realized their blatant feelings earlier. For not having said anything in time to have made a difference. For not doing anything to try and make themselves like the one below.

It had been Beast Boy, after all, who had tried countless times to make Raven laugh. He had been shot down by her every time, without even a smile to keep his hopes up, no matter how Raven had felt like smiling on the inside. And there was Starfire. A free, innocent spirit, who smiled at the slightest funny word, even if she didn't understand what the fuss was about. She appreciated Beast Boy, rather than pushing him away.

And Starfire had tried millions of times to get Robin to open up to her. She had made him feel awkward time and time again, and made him appreciate life all the more to know she was there, too. But Robin had not done as Starfire had wanted. He had refused to allow her to see any of his true emotions, his true feelings. But there was Beast Boy, who allowed everyone to know what he was feeling at all times. He was loose and didn't take life so seriously. He could enjoy a date without worrying about whether the bank was being robbed. He made life fun for Starfire, rather than forcing her to always think of work.

As the two watched, both found themselves thinking the same words at the same time.

_Farewell..._

Disclaimers:

Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Robin, Cyborg, Silkie, and pretty much everything but the plot at hand belongs to © D. C. Comics/Cartoon Network/Kids WB


	7. Chapter seven: The Chiserran Race

_Wrong Conclusions  
_**Chapter seven: The Chiserran Race**

As Raven and Robin left, the two below knew nothing of the spies ever being there. Starfire and Beast Boy merely continued with their walk, Beast Boy worriedly looking down at Starfire's face. For a long time, there was the deadly sort of silence that Beast Boy hated more than anything else. Usually, he would have lightened the mood with a joke, but this time, he knew his sense of humor wouldn't do anything but make things worse. Instead, he stayed quiet, leading Starfire to a bench before helping her sit down. He sat down beside her and cupped his hands, twiddling his thumbs awkwardly. He hadn't expected for Starfire to have such a reaction. After all, she had seen the Vampire-boy before, hadn't she? She had been right there when he and Beast Boy had fought!

"So, Star..." Beast Boy finally said, quietly turning his face towards hers. "Er, well..." he fell silent once again, his green ears drooping slightly. She had said she would tell him...Had she changed her mind? Was he being too nosy? Did he break some form of Tamaranian tradition?...Again?

Beast Boy grew nervous in seconds, his face beginning to burn red. But to his relief, Starfire blinked, wiped the last of her tears away, and giggled. Never before had Beast Boy been more relieved to hear a laugh.

"I will tell you as promised," she said. "Really, I do not know why I had reacted the way I did. I was not aware I still thought so badly of the Chiserran race..."

"Chiserran?" Beast Boy perked up, instantly curious.

"Yes. They are a fearsome fighting race with pale skin and long fangs which drink the blood of others. They have the ability to look into one's eyes and see their deepest fears, and their linguistic ability may cause the listener to believe all they say. Before I was captured and landed on your planet, Tammaran was invaded by a clan of Chiserran. My sister and I attempted to fight them off, but I was captured. They...The Chiserrans did things to me which I did not find at all pleasant."

Starfire hugged her arms, tugging at the sleeves of her sweater. Once again her green eyes filled with tears, but this time, she held them back.

"They had even attempted to drain me of my blood, but thankfully, my K'norfka had appeared before that became possible."

"Why do they drink blood?" Beast Boy asked before he could stop himself.

"It is vital for their strength, and I believe it is also part of a legend," Starfire answered. "It is said that they search for their prince in his new form, and will only be able to recognize him through the taste of his blood. And that day, the Chiserran will take control of the universe, using other races as nothing but a source of food..."

"That...That's sick!" Beast Boy cried, staring in disbelief at Starfire. It was bad enough how humans used animals as food, but people, Tamaranians, everything?

"I agree," Starfire said with a small nod of her head. "But it is a mere legend. Usually, Chiserran stay on their planet, where plasma is of no use to them because of the gases in the air that compensate for it. Why one would be here, I do not fully understand..."

"But...Star," Beast Boy said, his anger melting away into mild worry. "Why did you react like this now? I mean, you saw me fighting him, didn't you? He was right there."

"I saw nothing but his back. My worry for your well-being caused me to watch only you, Beast Boy," Starfire said as though the answer had been obvious.

"You were worried about me?" Beast Boy asked, blinking in surprise. Despite his attempts of holding it back, a mild blush crept over his cheeks. Living with the Titans, he had learned not to worry so much about the others during fights. Every time he had, it had taken a turn for the worst. The other Titans knew how to take care of themselves. They were strong. Even Robin didn't freak out too badly when Starfire was knocked down.

"Of course," Starfire nodded. "You had left of your own accord with a warning given to no one. This has not happened since the incident with the Toto and friend Terra..."

Beast Boy flinched at the use of that name. He didn't like thinking about it. But as Starfire looked up at him worriedly, he forced himself to smile and laugh nervously.

"I'm fine! I was just walking around town to clear my head a bit. I thought I'd go to the hospital like I always do, cheer up a few kids. Most of 'em were really happy to see me. It was kind of nice, especially after everything that happened with Trigon. I got, like, ten hugs!"

"That must be very pleasant," Starfire said, giggling. She folded her hands in front of her mouth and looked up at the clouds, as though imagining doing such a thing herself. Beast Boy watched her, tilting his head slightly.

"You've...never done anything like that before?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, not really," Starfire laughed. "On Tammaran, wounds heal very quickly so few stay in such facilities for long periods of time."

"Yeah, but what about here? There are lots of hospitals! You could visit any one! Kid's'd love to see you!"

"I...Am not sure that would be the case for me, Beast Boy."

"Eh? Why not?"

"I am not aware of how many things works on this planet. Most of the technology here is still strange to me. If I were to enter a hospital and touch something that should not be touched, I could never forgive myself... Do you not remember the case with the cooking?"

"How can I forget...?" Beast Boy ran a hand through his hair, smiling a bit at the memory. Not long after they had formed the Titans, Starfire had attempted to cook a meal. She had never seen an oven, a refrigerator, or a toaster before. All of which she had attempted to use. There had been a mass fire, and Robin had given Starfire the first yelling from him of her life.

Beast Boy's ears drooped slightly. It had been the first time she had ever cried because of something Robin had said to her. But it sure hadn't been the last. Whenever Slade had come into play, Robin had always gone semi-insane. Beast Boy didn't know why, but every time Slade had left some form of message or had attacked them, Robin seemed to forget that the Titans were his friends, his allies -- not tools to be used for revenge. Usually, Beast Boy brushed this off, having worked for the Doom Patrol for so long, but for some reason, the memories of Robin's actions sent a strange pang of anger and guilt through Beast Boy's system at the moment.

Starfire was always nice to him. What right did Robin have to walk all over her the way he did? He could do what he wanted to the others, but Starfire was different. She could never refuse Robin anything he wanted. One day, Robin could say something that he could never take back; he could hurt her...

"Mm, it was an interesting experience," Starfire agreed, causing Beast Boy to snap out of his train of thought.

"Interesting?"

"Yes. It was the first time friend Robin became angry with me. I learned many things from that mistake, as I always do when I do wrong. I appreciate the honesty, despite how I do not enjoy receiving The Yelling."

"You're...a real character, y'know that, Star?" Beast Boy asked, unable to keep himself from smiling. Leave it to Starfire to see the bright side of being yelled at.

"Character?" Starfire tilted her head slightly in confusion. "Beast Boy, I was not aware that there is a book being written about me..."

"No, not like that!" Beast Boy laughed, shaking his head. "I just meant that you really surprise me sometimes! Now, c'mon."

The green one leaped to his feet, turning back and offering his hand to Starfire as he did so. Starfire blinked for a moment and then took his hand, using it to help her float into a standing position. But Starfire didn't pull her hand back, realizing quickly that Beast Boy wanted to lead her somewhere.

"Where is it we are going...?"

"To the hospital. As long as I'm there, it'll be okay, right? I'll tell you what you can touch and can't. Besides, there're a couple of kids in there that really love you, Star! They've seen you on TV and wanna meet you! You won't deny them that, will you?"

"Love me?" Starfire tilted her head to the side for a moment, as though she did not understand the word. But after a second of thought she nodded gently, smiling the bright smile she had not had on her face in days. "No, it would not be kind to do so."

"Good! You'll love this, Star..." And with a small laugh, Beast Boy pulled on Starfire's hand, running towards the hospital he had been to no more than a few days ago. Starfire giggled, floating after Beast Boy, glad to see that he, too, was looking forward to such an evening.

They reached the hospital within ten minutes. It was a large, white building with that seemed to consist of a hundred floors and a million windows, and on the roof was a very large, red plus-sign that told the entire city what the building was for. Starfire looked up at the building in awe, never having been so close to it in her life. Raven had always healed her in the Tower, instead.

"Let's go!" Beast Boy yanked at Starfire's hand, pulling her inside and causing her to giggle at his excitement.

It was because Beast Boy was so exited that he had not been listening around him and did not hear the whispers going on mere yards away from the hospital entrance. Dark whispers, talking about the incident with their fellow Chiserran brother a mere few days before, and how the green one had shamed him... And how it was now their duty to finish their brother's job. And to take the green one which had shamed him so.

But Beast Boy and Starfire knew none of this when they entered the hospital. In a particular room, there were three little children. One was a dark-skinned little girl with large bags under her brown eyes and her long, braided black hair all a mess, no older than maybe eight years old. She looked very exhausted and coughed every few moments.

To her left was a little boy with bright-red hair and green eyes, as well as freckles all over his face. He was covered in a purple blanket and his right arm was in a cast, suspended from the ceiling in a sling. He looked as though he was around nine, ten years old and looked very bored as he stared out the window of the hospital.

The last was a deathly pale boy with surprisingly-light brown eyes, as though they were almost red. His hair was black and naturally slicked back, with a few strands falling into his eyes. In his hands, he was clinging tightly to a Titan Communicator. He was taller than the other two, very scrawny and looked as though he was twelve.

"Guess who's back already!" Beast Boy cried out as he burst inside, causing all three of the children to look up. The girl smiled brightly, as did the pale boy, but the boy with red hair looked annoyed and looked back to the window after giving Beast Boy a small glare.

"Beast Boy...!" The girl cried, sitting up, but after coughing, fell back down into her large pillow.

"Madelyn, don't do that!" Beast Boy said, rushing over to the girl's side and tucking her gently into bed. "You still have a few more weeks of taking your medicine before you get better."

Madelyn nodded solemnly, but then smiled brightly, noticing that Beast Boy was fixing her covers for her. The boy with the slicked back hair sat up a bit as well, looking worriedly at Beast Boy.

"Beast Boy that...that guy's gone, right? I mean, he won't be coming back, will he?"

"I took care of 'im, don't worry!" Beast Boy responded, standing and flexing his arm, showing off the non-existent bulge of muscle. "You're perfectly safe as long as you have the Communicator, Jose, don't worry."

Jose nodded a bit, though the worried look in his eyes didn't fade. He looked at the Communicator in his trembling hands and clung tightly to it, as though it was his only means of survival.

"And how're you today, Mikey?" Beast boy asked, turning with a smile to the red-haired boy. The boy pouted, looking out the window as though he had not heard Beast Boy in the first place. Beast Boy waited for a response for a minute before laughing in an annoyed manner and muttering 'He just won't change' under his breath. He walked over and sat down on Mikey's bed, a smile suddenly appearing on his face. "You know, I brought someone with me today...Someone I'm sure you'll like a lot."

"It's probably someone boring," Mikey answered, not bothering to look at Beast Boy.

Beast Boy laughed again and waved at the door. With a nervous nod and a small jingle of her metal boots leaving the floor, Starfire flew in, rubbing her arm in a nervous manner. She smiled down at the back of Mikey's head, unable to see anything else of him, and raised a hand in greeting.

"Er, greetings, I am-"

But before she could finish, Mikey turned around, his green eyes lighting up in pure delight.

"Starfire! You're Starfire! You're…you're really her!" he cried out in shock, the sling holding his arm in place barely able to keep him from leaping to his feet. "You're really here! I-I can't believe it! It's STARFIRE!"

"Wow, it's really her!" Madelyn squealed excitedly as well, though it once-again caused her to cough a bit.

"Wow..." Jose blinked for a moment, looking at Starfire. "She's even prettier in person..."

Beast Boy lifted an eyebrow at the pale boy, causing him to blush furiously and clap a hand over his mouth. "I, I mean...!" But Starfire merely giggled, floating into the center of the room, doing a small spin for the children before landing properly.

"It is truly glorious to meet all of you! I do wish for us all to become friends!"

Disclaimers: 

Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Robin, Cyborg, Silkie, and pretty much everything but the plot at hand belongs to © D. C. Comics/Cartoon Network/Kids WB

Review, please?


	8. Chapter eight: Reconsideration

_Wrong Conclusion  
_**Chapter Eight: Reconsideration**

"What're you two so down about?" Cyborg asked, turning momentarily away from his own metallic arm and lifting the goggles he had been using up to his forehead. Robin and Raven had entered the Tower no more then ten minutes ago, and from Robin's somber expression and Raven's colder-than-usual attitude, the metallic Titan had been able to tell something had gone wrong.

"Nothing," Robin spat out. "Nothing at all."

"And my mother was a toaster," Cyborg rolled his eyes. "What happened?"

"I said 'nothing'!" Robin growled now, but Raven sighed and answered properly.

"Robin's jealous of the fact that Beast Boy's the one going out with Starfire."

"So they are datin', huh?" Cyborg asked in mild surprise, ignoring Robin's indignant look. "I was wonderin' when it'd happen. I mean, they both changed a lot after you two got together-"

"We're not together!"

Robin twitched in fury, and the shadow over Raven's face revealed four red, glowing eyes. Cyborg ducked just in time as a Burglar-Rang and a wave of black energy went for his table, causing a small crater to form in the middle of it.

"DUDE! I know, okay? I was just messing with you two!" Cyborg got back up carefully, staring at his friends in disbelief. "Seriously, if you two're THAT jealous, maybe you should just tell 'em."

"I'm not jealous of anything!" the Boy Wonder cried before turning on his heel and heading towards the gym, murmuring indignantly under his breath.

"I don't _do_ 'jealousy'," Raven said coldly, floating a few feet in front of her metallic companion. "And furthermore, there's nothing for me to be jealous of."

"Will you two stop foolin' yourselves?" the metal-clad Titan sighed, pulling out his screwdriver and ignoring how taken-aback he had made Raven look. "You've had it bad for BB ever since the mirror-thing. But you're never gonna admit it because you think you're this awful demon thing. Just like Robin's been droolin' over Star for as long as I can remember, but won't say anythin' 'cause he's too scared it'll mess up the team. All of you gotta just suck it up, tell each other how you feel and give me some _peace and quiet_."

Raven was now emanating an energy so black that it made her leotard seem grey. She glared at Cyborg, wondering what she could do to make him regret saying what he had uttered.

She could encase him in energy so he couldn't breathe...no, he probably had an oxygen mask. She could take all his bolts out of him! ...No, no, he could just pull himself back together. Something, something to get him back for daring to say that she had feelings for that stupid monkey of a boy...

After a few seconds, the furious glow around Raven faded and a satisfied smile appeared on her lips.

"...Says the guy who fell for a pink-haired villain during his mission."

"H-hey!" Cyborg's head shot up, blushing in surprise and embarrassment, but it was too late. Raven was already floating back into her room and shutting the door behind her, leaving nothing but a peeved teammate in her wake.

But as the door slid shut and she floated onto her bed, Raven couldn't help but begin to wonder...

Her? And Beast Boy? Sure, she liked him enough to tolerate him, but that was it, wasn't it? He was just an annoying, green, obnoxious boy who never knew when to keep his mouth shut!

She sighed. _That isn't true..._ She told herself instantly. _He's a lot deeper than that, even if he acts like he isn't..._

Her eyes became fixated on the ceiling as the memory of Terra's betrayed ran through her mind. Beast Boy had shown off some of his true, darker colors during that crisis, but despite everything, he had given the Earth-user a second chance, and Terra had redeemed herself because of it.

And then there was Malchior. Beast Boy had turned into a fly on her wall just to watch Raven, to make sure she was alright. She had taken it as nosy at the time, but now appreciated how it had merely been the green teen's way of showing concern.

And then there were all the times he had tried to make her laugh. It was easy enough with the others, but he tried extra-hard for her, even if she didn't appreciate it...

Raven let out a small sigh, feeling her face break into a warm smile...

Wait. A smile? Her, smiling, thinking about Beast Boy? No, no, that...that wasn't possible! He was loud, annoying, stupid...There was no way she had any feelings for him!

She sat bolt up-right and scanned her room momentarily. The jewel on her forehead glowed and her drawer opened, causing a black mirror to float towards her. She looked at it, inhaling deeply.

She needed to know. She needed to go inside of herself and see what she truly thought about Beast Boy. What all the sides of her thought of him.

With a final deep breath, she concentrated, feeling herself being drawn into the mirror, and found herself within the gates of her own mind...

"HAH!"

The punching bag flew back a few feet into the air before falling back and causing the chain that held it to the ceiling to jangle violently. Before it even had a chance to swing back to a motionless position, it was punched again and flew even further than before.

Robin panted, continuing his barrage of upper-punches. He was dressed in gi with ripped sleeves and sweat poured down the sides of his face and into his mask. But the Boy Wonder didn't seem to notice as he continued to abuse the bag before him, trying to keep his mind free of thought, empty, clear-

_What's he got that I haven't?_

"Augh!" Robin cupped his hands over his ears in an attempt to block his own thoughts out, only to be hit in the face by the punching bag on its swing back. He was sent back and found himself on the floor before he could react to the bag's act of vendetta.

"Stupid bag!" Robin growled, rubbing his nose and glaring daggers at his assaulter. He thoroughly considered standing and giving it another beating, but after a second thought, decided to take a breather instead. He sat up and ran a hand through his spiky hair, exhaling slowly, his thoughts now free to roam again on matters which he had attempted to avoid.

_Why did she pick him? What did Beast Boy do to get her? ...Why didn't I say anything to her sooner?_

He groaned, another voice in his head quickly answering his questions.

_He's not scared of telling people how he feels, and that's all he had to do to make Starfire feel special. Where as I stayed quiet, telling myself she was like a sister for the past...what, three years? _

Robin sighed and glanced up at the ceiling. Growing up with Batman had, indeed, taken a toll on him. All the talk about 'job first, personal matters later' had made him too jumpy to ever talk about..._feelings_. It had always been Starfire who had made him realize he had to think of the whole team, not only himself or how to get the job done as quickly as possible... Which was quite surprising, considering how the two had met.

Starfire had been the one he had considered the villain at first, and in all honesty, he had been wary of her their first few months together because of it. Robin had avoided making her angry or annoyed, thinking of her as only a war-class being. He had think of her as a friend, that much was true, but more as a friend who could break him in half than a possible girlfriend. And the more he avoided her, the more Starfire had tried to get to know him, doing her very best to grasp the concepts of kindness and love. But even she had eventually started to lose hope in ever getting Robin's full trust.

That was, until the cooking incident. Starfire had never used a kitchen before, and had been asked by Beast Boy to make some toast. She had agreed, and attempted making them... Somehow (none of the Titans had ever found out quite HOW), Starfire had managed to set half of their kitchen a-flame, as well as half of the living room.

After seeing half of the files he had worked so hard to burnt to a crisp, Robin had lost it. The Boy Wonder had spent almost twenty entire minutes yelling at Starfire about how she had to be more careful and ask if she didn't know how to use something, rather than risking turning their entire home into a pile of ashes. He had even called her stupid, air-headed, and a few other things he still regretted. But the moment he had finished his rant and realized what he had said, Robin had cringed, expecting to be hit into the next week. But to his amazement, all he had heard was a whimper. A small, weak whimper, followed by the sounds of crying and rushed footsteps. That had been the first time Robin had ever made Starfire cry.

Robin sighed, unable to keep from smiling when he thought of the incident. True, he felt nothing but guilt for having made tears fall from those beautiful green eyes, but it had also been the first time he had hugged her. For almost the entire night, while she cried, muttering apologies, half in Tamaranian, half in English.

After that memory, more began to rush into the mind of Robin. All good ones, about how he and Starfire had become very close friends, how she had learned more things about Earth, how he had learned to be a better person all because of her. And the more Robin remembered, the quicker the realization came...

_I'm in love with Starfire._

He merely breathed in deeply, the thought coming to him as much less of a shock than he would have expected. Truthfully, he really had been fooling only himself. After all, if all he had only felt platonically about Starfire, he wouldn't have gotten jealous about her getting married, and his heart wouldn't have skipped a beat when Cyborg had called Starfire his girlfriend. He could have carried on normal conversations with her without worrying what she thought of him, or wanted to protect her as much as he had. The feelings had been inside of him for so long, but he had always pushed them aside, calling them 'friendly', or mentally referring to Starfire as a sister.

And now, it was too late. She was with Beast Boy. They were having a good time, he had put her hand around her and she had leaned close to him. All was lost...

_...Or was it? _

Robin thought back to when Kitten had asked for a date from him. He had far from enjoyed it, considering how annoying she was, but Starfire had acted very, well...jealously then. She had even dressed up just to follow Robin to the dance and make sure no harm came to him. And she had also been jealous when she had thought that Blackfire had replaced her...

So there was hope yet! Maybe, maybe if he told Starfire, then she would still have feelings for him! Maybe Beast Boy and she really were just friends. 'Maybe' was usually not something Robin would dare gamble with, but for Starfire, he was willing to try it.

Just as Robin began pulling his last piece of uniform on to go find Starfire again, the door to the gym slid open and Raven and Cyborg stood outside of it. A Communicator was flashing in Cyborg's large hand and his expression was grim.

"Robin, there's trouble at a hospital to the East. Starfire and Beast Boy are there, but they said they can't hold out alone much longer."

--

Disclaimers: 

Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Robin, Cyborg, Silkie, and pretty much everything but the plot at hand belongs to © D. C. Comics/Cartoon Network/Kids WB

Review, please? Reviews help me write more. :D


	9. Chapter nine: The East Arrives

_Wrong Conclusions  
_**Chapter Nine: The East Arrives**

"How long ago did they call?"

"Almost ten minutes. I had to spend that long getting Raven out of her mirror-"

"If you would've just called my name, I would have left faster."

"Were they hurt? What was going on, Cyborg?"

"Look, man, I dunno! The communication went fuzzy and neither one would pick up after that!"

All three Titans' nerves were on the edge as they sped towards the hospital, Cyborg in his car, Robin on his motorcycle, and Raven deciding to go by air. They were still half a city away because Raven's powers couldn't have gotten them there; none of them had even been inside the particular hospital before. So all Robin could do was ask Cyborg for details that he didn't have while Raven kept on the lookout for signs of true peril.

Finally, after almost ten minutes of non-stop driving, the hospital came into view. The three Titans were relieved to find Starfire flying in the air, throwing star-bolt after star-bolt at a small group of albino men wearing the same type of clothing they had seen the 'Vampire-Guy' wear before -- tight, black body-suits with boots, and belts just about everywhere. All four albinos had the same golden eyes as the previous villain, and the same shade of black for their hair. Only none of these decided to slick it back, which would have taken away from the 'Vampire' effect, had their fangs not been long enough to reach each of their chins.

One had short hair; he was the largest and best muscled. The second had medium-long hair and bangs in his eyes. He seemed built for speed, with a thin body and an almost gangly appearance. The third had hair down to his shoulders that curled ever so slightly, and he appeared to be Robin's identical size and shape. And the last had a low ponytail going down to his waist, and was tall but strong, holding himself in an almost regal manner -- the obvious ringleader.

Starfire threw her green bolts of fiery heat at the four of them, her expression filled with panic. Though almost every star-bolt connected, causing cinders to fly in every direction, the four albinos remained unharmed. In fact, it seemed to tickle them; they cackled louder as more green clumps of energy attempted to harm them.

"Hey, Urres'l?" The one with the short hair asked. "Is it me, or does that Tamaranian look familiar?"

At this, Starfire blinked in amazement, her star-bolt barrage momentarily ending. She looked familiar...?

"She should," Urres'l, the ringleader, replied calmly, flicking his long pony-tail behind him.

"Seriously? Why?" The gangly one asked, earning himself a light smack over the head from the one with slightly-curled hair.

"Ker'rk, Gerood, are you two idiots or what? That's the princess! Don't you remember her? The five of us had fun during our war with them," He grinned widely, giving Starfire a hungry look.

"Really, Wer'nel?" The one with shortest hair asked, scrunching his face as though to get a better look at Starfire. "What do you think, Ker'rk? She does look almost the same, just kinda stupid without the royal armor..."

"I agree," Ker'rk, the gangly one, replied. "We should give her a proper greeting, though, while Or'lesp is running around inside."

"Ooh, I DO so enjoy proper greetings," Gerood snickered, stepping in front of his companions, overshadowing them easily with his excess muscle. Before Starfire could fly further up towards safety, the albino gave a loud, ear-splitting shriek. The vibrations emanating from his vocal cords actually managed to shatter window after window of the hospital until the vibrations reached Starfire. Once they hit her, she too, let out a loud cry, and began to fall to the ground, powerless and flickering out of consciousness.

"STARFIRE!" Without thinking, Robin speed towards the girl. He saw her, falling like an angel whose wings had been lopped off, going faster and faster towards the earth; but his motorcycle was going faster as well. He was right under her, and she was no more than a few meters away.

But just as he was about to catch her in his outstretched arms, safe and sound, there was a black and white blur of color, and rather than her being in Robin's arms, she was a few feet away, in Ker'rk's instead.

"Too slow," the pale man chimed. Robin glared, wanting nothing more than to hit him until his fangs broke off, but instead had to swerve his motorcycle to the side, narrowly avoiding a crash.

"Let her GO," Raven appeared from the shadows beside Robin, her eyes glowing a bright red beneath her hood. "Or you're going to sorely regret it."

"Ooh, brothers, is it me, or do I smell the foul scent of Azarath?" Wer'nel cocked an eyebrow, his kin now circling around him and Ker'rk.

"My, I do as well! The stench of the land now dead! Now, brothers, is it me, or is that the odor of Trigon the Great upon her as well?" Ker'rk chuckled, tossing Starfire's limp form carelessly over his shoulder.

"Trigon...?" Raven was surprised, not having expected to hear that name again for years to come, much less with the title 'the Great' attached to it.

"Yes, I see the resemblance now," Urres'l muttered, rubbing his shin. "The dark aura is difficult not to recognize. This must be his daughter! How odd, I expected her to be...larger."

"Who cares about larger? She's the right shape and size for ME," Ker'rk licked his lips with a purpling tongue, careful not to cut himself on his own fangs.

"...Ugh... Tell me he isn't hitting on me," Raven looked down at Robin with a look of pure disgust. It was usually Starfire who got all the cheap lines, and Raven preferred it that way. She didn't need villains like Red X staring at her inappropriate body parts as she threw them into walls.

"Worry about that later," the Boy Wonder muttered, not tearing his eyes away from the group of Vampire-like villains for a moment. They had Starfire... Right as he decided to tell Starfire how he felt, something like this had to happen. It always happened...It was inevitable.

"Aww, he looks worried," Wer'nel snickered at Robin. His eyes scanned the ground around him, looking through the rubble left behind from Starfire's attacks and Gerood's shriek. The albino soon found a pole and kicked it into his palm. He twirled it several times in his hand to get the feel of it, and then pointed it with a hint of challenge at Robin. "What? You scared for the Tamaranian? Think we'll hurt her? My, it sounds like the masked-dork's known us all his life..."

"Tch, I could take him out with one hit," Gerood laughed, cracking his knuckles. But before Robin could pull his extendable pole out from the thresholds of his belt, Gerood was on the ground via a large beam of bright-blue light and sound waves.

"Boo-yah!" Cyborg cheered, his arm still in its sonic-beam mode. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size, beef-cake?"

"Nrrgh...I wouldn't be the one calling anyone 'beef cake', tin-man," Gerood growled, clumsily pulling himself back to his feet and then tilting his head to the side, cracking his neck.

"'Tin man'? Oh, you just didn't-! I'll let you know I'm made of steel and iron with some titanium reinforcement!" Cyborg growled back, now insulted.

But while the largest two men fought one another, both of their sound attacks canceling each other out, Robin clashed metal with Wer'nel. Out of the four, Wer'nel was the most lenient towards fighting. He wasn't interested in what was going on inside of the hospital; all he was after was a good fight, and Robin was an almost worthy opponent. They were equally fast, equally good at dodging, and had similar ideas on attacking. If Robin got a hit in, Wer'nel returned it no more than a few seconds later. In fact, their battle was so well-matched and so enthralling that neither boy noticed how Ker'rk began to run circles around Raven, merely to annoy her. He was far too fast for her to be able to get a solid grip on him, and anything she tried to trip him with he merely ran around. No matter how many things she tried over-shadowing, she couldn't keep up...

"Looks like your friends are all busy, Princess," Urres'l muttered to Starfire's body as he held it in his arms. He had taken it off of his thin brother's hands when he had begun running. She did nothing more than groan and turn over, as the victims of his brother's screech usually did. He chuckled, watching the battles, seeing his brothers doing nothing more than toying with the Titans. But just as he began to float up from the ground to enter the hospital, he felt something small hit his ankles.

"Hm?" His golden eyes slowly drifted to his feet, where he saw two small humans in odd white-and-red uniforms. One had a tooth missing, and they were holding hands, sending identical fierce looks at him.

"Suelte a senorita Starfire!" They shouted in together. The very sight of them caused a wave of laugher to run through Urres'l's entire body and he couldn't help but burst into entertained chuckles. His laughter didn't make Mas and Menos any happier.

"Vayamos!" Mas said, and with his brother's nod, the two began to run at their top speed, stopping every few moments to send kicks or hits to the albino's face. Their speed caused their hits to have twice the power, and the training Bumblebee had made them go through had caused them to begin gaining some muscle of their own.

"Augh! What an annoyance...!" Urres'l tried to catch the two, but their speed was too great. He turned, trying to get the attention of his fastest brother, but his eyes widened in shock at what he saw.

Ker'rk had both of his arms held behind him in a painful manner and was drenched thoroughly with water as an attractive Atlantian boy held his head down. A bright-yellow arrow had frozen Wer'nel from the waist down, while leaning against the block of ice was a boy with slicked-down orange hair and the same type mask as Robin's. Gerood was grunting, walking backwards as something tiny with the wings of a bee shocked him from all sides, causing him pain, and because of his large size, leaving him incapable of fighting the small annoyance off. Just as Gerood was about to finally knock the small fly away, it grew to the size of a normal person, and a dark-skinned woman in yellow and black stripes knocked him to the ground with a very forceful kick to the nose.

"Figured you guys could use some help," Bumblebee said with a wide grin, buzzing above Gerood. "Good thing we showed up. You're losing your touch, Sparky."

"I was just putin' on a show," Cyborg growled, crossing his arms over his chest. "I didn't want the others to feel bad 'cause I finished my guy off first, that's all..."

"Yeah, just like Robin here didn't have any problems with this guy," Speedy muttered, tapping Wer'nel's nose with another arrow just as the albino attempted to bite him, causing the upper half of the albino's body to freeze as well.

"Raven, are you alright?" Aqualad looked up at Raven, still holding Ker'rk's arms behind his back. All he got in response was a rather shy nod from the gothic girl, but that was enough for him, and he put his attention back to keeping the gangly boy from escaping.

"Augh-!" While Urres'l had been watching his brothers' defeat, he had completely forgotten that Mas and Menos had been attacking him. While his attentions were elsewhere, the two had finally gotten together and bitten his hand at the same time. The sudden shock of the pain had forced the albino to let go of Starfire, causing her body to fly into the air.

"STARFIRE!" Robin made an attempt to reach her, but he was too far away. Thankfully, Mas and Menos were prepared for this.

"Hemos agarrado a Senorita Starfire!" They said as they caught the purple-clad girl in their four arms. Once she had landed safely, the twins let out identical sighs of bliss, but then looked at Urres'l with hatred in their eyes. They set the Tamaranian down with the utmost care, and then sped off to team-kick the enemy.

"Hah!" They cried, their feet connecting with the midriff of the albino. He gave out a choked gasp, telling the speedy boys they had done what they had wanted – knocked the wind out of him. They flipped back to their feet, releasing their grip on one another. The two were about to take hands again, when three small, sharp boomerangs flew from behind them and hit Urres'l in the each shoulder and right under the left arm. The third one wasn't aimed as carefully as the last two, and caused the shirt of the albino to rip slightly, and allow a small amount of blackened blood to drip to the ground, where as the first two merely pinned the man against the nearest wall of the hospital.

Mas and Menos turned around to see Robin glaring daggers at the ring-leader of the Vampire-like gang. In his hands was his metal pole and he held it in a highly threatening manner. The twins cowered slightly as Robin walked past them, but then the two ran towards Starfire to try and awaken her as Robin held his pole to Uress'l's throat.

"What do you want?" The leader of the Titans demanded with a snarl. Cyborg and Raven exchanged mildly-worried glances. Robin hadn't been this angry since their last encounter with Slade.

"Me?" Urres'l asked coyly. "My ruler -- which your people so greedily keep in this prison, as though he is nothing more than one of you lowly humans, or a Troq like that girl there. We will be taking him back and proving again to the universe that we, the Chiserran, are the mightiest of all races! Your planet will be nothing more than prey for us!"

He began to laugh maniacally, but stopped as Robin pressed the pole more firmly against the ringleader's Adam's apple.

"You're looking for someone in the hospital?" He asked, this time more to himself than anyone else. He thought on it a moment. "But...if you're looking for someone inside, why are you out here?"

Just as Robin said those words, he got the answer. Inside the hospital there was a loud crashing sound and part of a wall above them came crashing down. Bumblebee quickly used her Stingers to shoot at the smaller parts of it out of harm's way, and Aqualad forced some pipes beneath the ground to rise, open, and send rushing water at the larger part to slow its fall.

"Beast Boy's still inside!" Raven called to Robin, but he had already understood what had happened. The group outside was nothing more than a distraction. Starfire had taken them on so the others inside wouldn't have gotten harmed. She had left Beast Boy to the one trying to kidnap whoever this 'Ruler' was. And Robin hadn't understood this. The Boy Wonder had completely lost his head when he had seen Starfire falling. And now, it could have cost them Beast Boy as well as the innocent people within the hospital.

Disclaimers:

Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Robin, Cyborg, Silkie, and pretty much everything but the plot at hand and the Chiserran belong to © D. C. Comics/Cartoon Network/Kids WB

Review?


	10. Chapter ten: Misson's End

_Wrong Conclusions_  
**Chapter ten: Mission's End**

Acknowledging his failure, Robin looked to the others around him. Starfire, still passed out, remained in Mas and Menos' arms. Raven was floating in the shadows beside Aqualad, a mildly worried expression sketched across her mostly-hidden features. Cyborg stood beside Bumblebee, already pulling his arm close so he could lock onto Beast Boy's energy signal. Robin turned back to look directly at Speedy, the red-haired archer who had once been a valiant opponent.

"Go," Speedy said suddenly, causing Robin to snap back to reality.

"Go!" Bumblebee repeated for her teammate, twirling her Stingers and then pointing them at Urres'l. The Chiserran hissed at this, but she ignored it. "What the heck are you waiting around for!? We have these guys under control, and Mas and Menos'd kill themselves before they let anything touch Starfire! Go help Beast Boy!!"

"You're right," the Teen Titan leader said, narrowing his eyes in disgust at himself for hesitating the way he had. He turned on his heel, his cape flapping in the slight breeze, and picked up his steel pole, shrinking it down so that it was once-again easy to carry.

"I'm not done with you," Robin hissed at the Chiserran leader, but then broke into a run towards the hospital entrance. "Titans, go!"

Without hesitation, Raven and Cyborg followed their leader. Cyborg ran ahead of Raven as they entered the hospital, his dark eye on his mechanical arm, ignoring the signs carnage within the hospital walls. The villainous group had obviously been on the first floor. Medicinal liquids were spilled everywhere, and a few windows on doors had been shattered. One particular door had been torn completely off of its hinges. There was no sign of death anywhere in the hospital, but there were dozens of frantic hospital employees running from room to room, helping their newly-injured patients.

"Beast Boy's on the ninth floor, fifth room to the left. He's moving a lot, though, so we'll be lucky to catch 'im," Cyborg informed his teammates, looking up from the technology on his forearm.

"We WILL catch him," Robin corrected his friend, not wanting there to be any room for doubt. "Raven! Go on ahead, Cyborg and I will catch up!"

"Right," Raven nodded and then closed her eyes. She lifted her hands around her, feeling the energies flow through her as darkness began to engulf her body. "Azarath metrion ZYNTHOS!" The shadows from within the earth lifted and swirled around her body. She remained calm, used to this by now, and mentally commanded them to take her in. She was pulled into the earth, a shadow herself, and felt herself go through the walls all the way to the ninth floor. There, she gave a second order to the shadows, and felt herself leave them and melt away from the darkness.

She couldn't help cringing slightly when she saw the state of the corridor.

Compared to this, the first floor had been attacked by bunnies. Walls were broken down, glass was all over the floor, wheelchairs parts were scattered all over. What disturbed Raven most was the fact that in certain areas of impact, blood remained.

She floated swiftly from room to room, and felt relief, seeing that everyone had been evacuated in order to leave room for the ensuing fight, especially considering this had obviously been a floor for child patients. But the half-demon female didn't have long to stay calm, for the next moment, a familiar pale figure came crashing through a wall beside her. She raised up a dark shield at the last moment to keep the rubble from connecting with her, managing to keep calm and silent only by small margins.

Raven lowered the shield as quickly as she had put it up, and her eyes narrowed, realizing that this was the very first Chiserran they had met long before, with the same slicked-back hair. He had no bruises, no cuts anywhere on his body, though his outfit had some major damage done to it. It was shredded everywhere, and certain parts were covered in hospital liquids. Raven even noticed part of a syringe sticking out from one of the belts.

The Chiserran let his arms fall to his sides, since he had been sent through the wall with his arms in an x-shaped block, and smiled, his long fangs glistening red in the light. He ran his tongue over them and chuckled, perfectly calm.

"You know, you won't be able to last long like that, Changeling," he told the hole through which he had entered. A moment later, there were loud, strangled pants as an enormous green tiger made itself visible. It growled for a moment, but then flinched, and shifted quickly back into the familiar shape of Beast Boy.

Raven felt a stab of horror when she saw what state he was in. Beast Boy's left eye was blackened, and parts of his uniform had been torn to shreds. The parts where they had been torn were stained with rubble and blood, with certain gashes much deeper than others. He was losing enough blood to leave a clear trail of it behind him as he moved.

On his right arm, where the sleeve had been torn off, was a deep bite, with fang marks oozing the crimson liquid. Beast Boy was breathing harshly, obviously unable to see strait at this point, swaying a bit as he stood. But despite all this, he refused to budge from his spot.

"I don't _need_ to last long!" Beast Boy growled in a brave voice, but it broke with his further threats. "I just need to last long enough for my friends to get here! Th-then you'll be in REAL trouble!"

"Do you? Really?" the Chiserran's voice suddenly turned silky and smooth, as though he were talking to a young child whose affection he longed for. He took a bold step towards Beast Boy, causing the green Titan's glare to deepen. "Would they really bother with a failure such as you, Changeling? Perhaps...perhaps they left you here. You are their weakest link, after all...They could replace you within moments! What if this is what they had planned from the beginning? Your defeat, and then happening to arrive a moment too late. Surely, the two birds on your team would wish for no less...And the Troq you began to fancy no longer wishes to be involved with you..."

Raven growled slightly, barely believing the things that the Chiserran was suggesting. She felt her rage boil up inside, the dark energy beginning to surround her and turn her eyes red. She lifted her arms, a large stone with it, but it shattered above her head as she saw what happened next.

The Chiserran had been hurled through the wall by an enraged rhinoceros the color of leaves. The rhino shifted into a fly the moment contact was made, burying the villain in rubble, and allowing Beast Boy to fly a bit away. Once he was far away enough, Beast Boy shifted back. He grinned triumphantly after several pants, but couldn't resist his bodies urges, and ended up falling to his knees, gripping his bite mark with one arm, while the other attempted to shakily support him.

"Don't...you EVER...call Starfire that..." Beast Boy said, his eyes not breaking away from the Chiserran for so much as a second. "You guys are nothing but jerks who're trying to hurt a little boy, and you can't even do THAT right! Don't tell ME about being the weakest link! Because whether I'm weak or not, I'm enough to keep YOU from doing what you want to do!!"

The rubble on top of the pale villain shifted slightly, but no retaliation came from it. It seemed as though the indestructible villain had finally been rendered immobile. Beast Boy's ears twitched slightly, trying to get any sign of a sound, but not getting anything, his eyes finally fell to the floor, a sort of sad smile on his face.

"At least...I was for that long..." Beast Boy added in a quiet voice. With a small laugh, the world began to sway around him. He kept laughing, not entirely sure why. His head felt light, and it was as though something inside of him was leaving. Not just his consciousness, almost like...all of his problems. All of his emotional problems involving Starfire and Raven, all of the inferiority he felt towards Robin and Cyborg, all those dark feelings he had for Slade after Terra, all the regret he felt for Terra...They were leaving him. It left him light. Stable. Happy.

Beast Boy's laughter continued as the room suddenly tilted to the side, sharply tilting back directly afterwards. It turned into a small tunnel ahead of him, nothing more. It was as though his hands were mikes away. Last, everything faded into whiteness, and Beast Boy knew no more, collapsing from the ground via exhaustion and blood loss.

"Beast Boy!" Raven quickly flew towards him, ready to attempt some form of healing to help, but stopped before she could ever lay a hand on her teammate. The energies around her were odd. Though Beast Boys were diminishing, the Chiserran...His weren't lowered! His heart beat was the same, his breathing was calm. And with Beast Boy's losing consciousness, his voice came back. He was laughing. Laughing at Beast Boy's futile attempt.

Raven whirled around, enraged at the cackles towards her friend's honorable attempt, feeling her eyes glow red with anger. She saw the rocks beginning to move as the villain tried to stand, but reacted quicker than he could.

"Azarath Metrion ZYNTHOS!!" She lifted the metallic beds beside her and chucked them at the shifting pile of rubble, twisting the metal bars at will, trapping the blood-sucker in waste. While her control remained on the metal of the beds, she lifted the ball of destruction with some strain, and hurled it directly into the opposite wall. The wall crumbled beneath it, but the floor remained stable, to Raven's partial disappointment. She considered fixing that small annoyance with a second spell, but froze mid-way through the motion, hearing a weak groan beside her.

Her eyes shot down and found Beast Boy's green form. He was growing much paler than he usually was and the blood around him was beginning to form a small puddle. Raven blinked for a moment, confused as to why she cared, and then remembered, the back of her mind calling for her to calm down, telling her that her friend was hurt. He was the reason she had been so angry.

"Beast Boy..." She floated quietly beside him, kneeled down, careful to avoid his blood. She looked worriedly at him, placing a hand gently on his head, closing her eyes. She wanted to pinpoint the areas of the most damage in order to help patch them together. She began to feel her spirit flow partially into his with the spell she always chanted...

"STOP RIGHT THERE!!"

Too late. The bed the Chiserran had been trapped inside of was already torn apart. He then made sure to lift up both metal chunks, and with a grin, hurl them at the two new arrivals that were the Boy Wonder and his half-android friend.

"Oh, you think that'll stop us, huh!?" Cyborg brought his arm up, and with one blast, hit both the chunks of metal out of the line of fire. The contact with the metal caused the sonic waves to shatter through it, sending the dust on it in every direction. But Robin was prepared for that – the Boy Wonder leaped the moment the dust lifted, one hand going into his belt and hurling Bird-a-Rangs directly at the villain who had hurt their friend. But to Robin's amazement, when he left the dust, the Chiserran was no longer there. He was in the opposite corner of the room, holding a small boy in his arms. Though Robin and Cyborg did not recognize him, Jose recognized them instantly, the Communicator that Beast Boy had given to him on the ground, shattered by the Chiserran's foot.

"Let him go!!" Robin roared, but he knew that with the boy's throat in the villain's arms, he could take no risks. He stayed a good ten feet away, shuffling his feet, looking for any opportunity to attack.

"My ruler is merely confused, no more..." The villain hissed, his stance suddenly changing from that of a threatening manner to that of a protective sort. This threw Robin off considerably, and he blinked in surprise.

"Ruler...?"

"My ruler, we must be off!!" With that, the slick-haired Chiserran hugged the boy closer, causing the tears in the child's eyes to grow in size and begin spilling to the ground.

"LET ME GO!!" But his cries were of no use. The next moment, from one of the many belts, the villain drew a smoke bomb and hurled it at the ground.

"NO!!" Robin made a hurl for where the Chiserran was, but with no avail. He was already gone. But that wasn't all.

Robin's head shot up as he heard Raven's cry followed by a thud..she had been thrown to the side! They were after Beast Boy as well!

"RAVEN! Don't let him get away!!" But as Robin shouted these frantic orders, a crash drowned his voice out, the side of the building breaking off to form an exit.

"BEAST BOY!" Robin and Cyborg both made a dash to the sound of the wall shattering, but by the time they reached it, it was simple to see though the smoke that they were gone. The villain, their friend, and the little boy they had failed to protect.

The Teen Titans had failed. The villains had gotten what they wanted, and then some.

Disclaimers:

Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Robin, Cyborg, Silkie, and pretty much everything but the plot at hand and the Chiserran belong to © D. C. Comics/Cartoon Network/Kids WB

Review, review?


	11. Chapter eleven: The Chiserran Story

_Wrong Conclusions  
_**Chapter eleven: The Chiserran Story**

"No...!!" Robin fell to his knees, gripping his metal pole and shutting his eyes tightly in blind rage. "NO!" He repeated in a shout, smashing his free fist at the tiles beneath him. Robin hadn't felt such rage at himself since Slade's attacks, and feeling it again when he thought he wouldn't have to deal with it again only doubled the sting of defeat.

Cyborg sighed. He knew better than to dwell on things. They had been in worse situations before, and now they had to calm down, rest up, and try again. He walked over to Raven, helping her up from the ground. Her head had a deep gash in it from when the villain had smashed her into the wall, and the half-demon quickly began to use her powers to close the wound. Both Titans remained silent, knowing better than to stop Robin quite yet.

And while the Titans had trouble in the hospital, the Titans East found that they weren't out of hot water with the other Chiserran, either. Just as Bumblebee gave the order to tie the criminals up, Gerood blinked back to consciousness and noticed his brothers' struggles. With a growl, he opened his mouth, the ear-splitting shriek filling the air. Gerood's sound-wave attack was powerful enough to not only send the others into the other side of the street, but to lift some of the rubble off of the ground. Aqualad fell instantly, having the most sensitive ears, allowing Ker'rk out of his grasp.

Ker'rk's fangy grin flashed, and he shot an appreciative glance at his brother before zipping left and right at high speeds, breaking Urres'l away from the wall by yanking the weapons out, while Gerood shattered the ice around Wer'nel with a second shriek.

"Don't let 'em get away-!" Bumblebee cried, but both she and Speedy were still on the ground, holding their heads in agony. Their vision was blurred, and neither could hear properly anymore due to the Chiserran's shriek.

"Hehe, we could use a little fun when we get back home, don't you think, brothers?" Ker'rk asked, suddenly appearing in front of Mas and Menos. The two brothers clung tightly to Starfire, neither willing to let her go. They were prepared to do what was needed to protect their senorita.

"KER'RK!" Urres'l suddenly shouted, just as the gangly villain was about to grab Starfire's arm. It caused Ker'rk to stop and turn back to face their leader in surprise. "Or'lesp is no longer inside. He has the Changeling and our Ruler. Let's go."

"But-" Ker'rk began, looking at Starfire with a rather desperate look.

"NOW," Urres'l barked, and with a loud growl of disapproval, he dashed and stood next to his other brothers, pouting with his arms crossed over his chest.

"FINE, Urres'l," Ker'rk growled, giving a sharp breath up to get his bangs out of his eyes. "But next time you won't be so lucky, you midgets!" He added, pointing in a threatening manner at Mas and Menos, licking his fangs as he did so.

"Wer'nel," the leader said calmly, and the medium-build brother stood before them, pointing one finger at the clouds above. As quickly as he lifted his hand, the clouds turned grey, and as soon as he closed his eyes, a giant bolt of lightning hit Wer'nel as though he were a giant lightning rod. Smoke lifted, obscuring the Titan East's vision, causing them to lift their hands in front of their eyes to shield themselves.

"What!?" Bumblebee cried in shock. That should have killed them! There was no way they could survive a lightning bolt!

"...What...?" Bumblebee repeated, as a wind blew by. The Chiserran, all four, were gone. The sky cleared up instantly, and the sun's rays shone on them once again. They had failed as well.

Later, much later, when the sun was finally setting, both the Titans and the Titans East were in the Titan Tower together. Everyone was bandaged up, and everyone was dead silent as they remained in different parts of the living room.

Aqualad and Speedy opted to be with Robin in the kitchen, all three boys leaning against counters, all three bandaged in at least a few places, but feeling better with some of Raven and Cyborg's healing. Bumblebee and Raven quietly shared some tea, neither hurt too badly, but neither willing to look the other in the eyes. Cyborg was in the medical room with Mas and Menos, hovering over Starfire's limp body. They had brought her back home for treatment, but all the machines seemed to have minimal effect on her tattered body.

For a log time, it was silent, except for Mas and Menos's quick Spanish phrases, asking Cyborg if they could help every few minutes, and Cyborg's 'It's okays' or 'No's when replying to them. Finally, Robin could stand the silence no more. With a roar, he smashed the cup he had been drinking from onto the table, causing it to shatter in his hands. Every Titan's head instantly snapped to him with worried expressions.

"I can't take this! Beast Boy's in trouble!!" He growled, but before he could walk off, Speedy caught him by the cloak with an arrow.

"Cool down, hot-head," he said with a sigh. "You can't just walk off. You don't know anything about those guys!"

"And standing here doing NOTHING'S not going to help, either!" Robin roared, panting with rage. "At least I can go research them! I can try and find SOMETHING out instead of just WAITING!"

"Nice to know you care this much about Starfire..." Aqualad said rather coldly, sending an icy glare as he crossed his arms over his chest. That comment caused Robin to shut his mouth instantly. There was nothing he could say.

Robin merely yanked his cloak away from Speedy's arrow, tearing it, and walked over to sit with crossed arms on the couch. It wasn't as though he didn't care... In fact, it was that he cared too much. Starfire was in trouble, and he couldn't bear waiting, just sitting, not being able to do a single thing about it. At least in fights he could jump to her side if something went wrong, but this was something totally different. This was up to time, and time was something that had never been on Robin's side before...

"It would be pointless, anyway..." Raven said calmly, setting her tea cup down and leaning back against a counter. "I searched through all my books already. Every page, every subject. There's nothing about these guys in any of the dark magic books I read..."

"That is because they did not used to be considered dark, Raven."

Everyone's head shot instantly to the doorway, where Starfire was standing, shaky, with bandages on her head. She wasn't floating and had a very sick expression in her eyes. But she was up. Cyborg was smiling slightly behind her, proud of his work, only feeling all the better as Mas and Menos leapt around the Tamaranian chanting '¡Ella está viva!'

"Starfire, you're okay!" Robin instantly jumped to his feet, arms open, ready to embrace her. But as he got close, Starfire turned away, emerald eyes on the floor, causing Robin to reconsider the hug at the last minute.

"Not considered dark?" Bumblebee walked over, blinking in mild confusion. "What do you mean by that, Starfire?"

"It is exactly as I say," Starfire said, looking very somber as she spoke. "While the Chiserran kept me in battle, they explained to me what it was that is occurring at this moment. Their story is long and extremely confusing."

"Well, we need you to tell us what you can," Aqualad said, Speedy nodding his head in agreement.

"She's tired!" Robin said quickly, but that only earned him a glare from almost everyone in the room. Raven sighed, shaking her head and pulling her hood down.

"Starfire should tell us what she knows while she can. If she sleeps, she might forget something. Tell us what happened, Starfire, everyone's listening."

"Yes," Starfire agreed, giving a weak nod. She swayed a bit as she stood, and Mas and Menos' eyes filled with panic quickly. In a flash, the brothers were gone and back with a chair, offering it to their green-eyed angel.

"¡Senorita Starfire, siéntese!" They ordered, and with a smile of gratitude, Starfire sat down, taking a deep breath, trying to recount everything that had happened that day...

"Well, as Beast Boy and I exited the park of amusement, we went to show kindness to some wondrous sick children in the hospital. Their kindness and excitement caused both Beast Boy and I great joy. One boy there, one with pure black hair, had been attacked by the Chiserran before and had received a Communicator from Beast Boy. But as we brought light to the children's days, the wall was shattered. And the four Chiserran entered.

"Kerr'k, the most frightening one, possesses the ability to run as high speeds, as do Mas and Menos. Gerood, the largest by far, is capable of creating waves of the super sonic with his voice. Wer'nel, the one who has no interest but that of fighting, possesses the ability to control electricity, though I saw this ability for but a moment. Urres'l, the tallest with long hair, gives orders to the other three. His abilities I did not see, as he allowed them to remain hidden. The last, Or'lesp, is well known in the arts of teleportation. Hitting him is quite difficult, and he remained battling Beast Boy, while the other four shattered the wall with my body.

"But as we locked ourselves in combat, they explained to me their plans, attempting to convince me to simply give up. The Chiserran claim that once they were a peaceful people. Prosperous, with a deal with a neighboring race to feed off of the blood of creatures who plagued them endlessly. They were peaceful, prone to no violence. But as the years went by, more races saw their consumption of blood as a threat, and became frightened of the Chiserran. And one planet stole the life of their beloved Ruler, he who allowed them to live in peace for so long. As a result, a war began between the planets near my home of Tammaran and the Chiserran. When the other planets were destroyed, mine was attacked as well as a result. I narrowly escaped their invasion long ago...

"But they continue to destroy planets in search of their Ruler! A prophecy had been orated. Their Ruler would find life within a new vessel, and could be recognized by the taste of his blood, and by a protector who shifts his shape ceaselessly in order to protect him. The Chiserran believe that Beast Boy is the protector within the prophecy, and Jose, the small boy within the hospital, is their ruler! Before I could have more explained, my friends, you all appeared, and I found myself blackening out of my usual conscious state..."

Starfire finished her story, the eyes of everyone in the room were wide, and everyone's breaths were short and forced. If what Starfire said was true, what could be the outcome...? What if Jose WAS the Ruler? And more frighteningly, what if he wasn't?

"...Friends..." Starfire began, blinking in mild surprise. "Speaking of him, where is Beast Boy?"

Aqualad and Speedy looked away awkwardly, as Robin, Raven, Cyborg and Bumblebee's heads all looked to the ground. None of them wanted to be the one to tell Starfire that they had failed. Even Mas and Menos took hands and sped off to the kitchen instead, to hide their tears from her.

"...They captured him," Raven finally said in a calm tone. "Both him and the little boy. We lost, and we have no idea where they are, Starfire."

"...What...?" Starfire blinked in disbelief, her green eyes filling with tears instantly. "Beast Boy...? N-No! That cannot be true! He was fighting most valiantly when I lost my consciousness!"

"And he fought well. But it wasn't enough, okay? We tried!" Raven growled a bit, already hiding pain as it was.

"NO! No, you are lying!!" Starfire stood up, shaking her head furiously, causing Robin to leap over and grab her shoulders before she reached Raven.

"Starfire! Calm down! We'll get Beast Boy back, we just have to figure out where he is!"

"No! No, time is not on our side!" Starfire's emotions got the best of her, and her eyes began to glow as tears streamed down her cheeks in panic. Robin pulled her close, eyes wide with shock behind his mask, unaware of why she was acting in such a way. She had always been so positive...

"They will kill him!" Starfire continued, choking sobs into Robin's cape, clinging to him for both emotional and physical support, feeling her body weaken beneath her. "The Chiserran, they require the protector as a sacrifice! They believe his death will allow their Ruler's memories to flow into the new vessel!"

"What!?" Robin and Raven both shouted at the same time in shock, not having thought the situation was this bad.

"They will kill him, Robin..." Starfire repeated, now more quietly, pulling her face away to look Robin right into his hidden eyes. "They will destroy Beast Boy if we cannot save him..."

Disclaimers:

Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Robin, Cyborg, Silkie, and pretty much everything but the plot at hand and the Chiserran belong to © D. C. Comics/Cartoon Network/Kids WB

Kwee Reviews?


	12. Chapter twelve: Beast in a Cage

**Wrong Conclusions**

Chapter Twelve: Beast in a Cage

"Augh...dude, what was the number of that bus of villains that ran me over...?" Beast Boy asked himself in a half-conscious state. He felt terrible. His body was sticky from both blood and sweat, and he was missing large chunks of his outfit, only making it more uncomfortable. He felt pain on every part of his body, the worst being in his ears and head. It was as though his ear drums had exploded, and he still felt a small ring from seemingly nowhere in the back of his mind.

With a bit of strain, Beast Boy opened his eyes, assuming for a moment that he had gone blind. But the longer he stared at nothingness, the faster he realized that he wasn't blind, but that the area was simply pitch-black. Even more slowly, his ears began to function properly, and he was able to fully appreciate the cold silence around him, interrupted every few minutes by the foreboding sound of water dripping from somewhere.

He was unable to smell a thing. His own body and all the blood it had lost were spoiling any opportunity for that. But, he instantly knew he was in some form of cage. The floor was cold, and as he moved his arms in a useless attempt to sit up, he felt that was also smooth. It was perfectly polished metal. He weakly turned his head to the side, straining to focus, and was able to make out bars separating him from the rest of the room.

Beast Boy had often had this nightmare...Weak, unable to do anything, stuck in a cage, like so many animals on Earth. He never admitted it to anyone, but it was one of his biggest fears. It came with the mentality of being so many animals -- none of them liked being behind cages, trapped, not knowing what awaited them in the future. A total lack of freedom. Beast Boy had dreaded such a fate ever since his parents had turned him into the creature he is now...

But why was he in a cage? What had happened? Last thing he remembered...

"AAAUGH!" Beast Boy finally forced himself into a sitting position, suddenly recalling the fight. It had been against that vampire look-alike. Or'lesp. The cheap, pale-faced, long-fanged freak who wanted to kidnap a little boy. A poor little boy with no idea what was going on...Guys like that made Beast Boy sick. And Beast Boy remembering how he had passed out only made his blood boil further.

"Then what...THEN what...?" Beast Boy repeated to himself. Hearing his own voice allowed him to concentrate despite his headache. He had passed out. Raven had been there. She had seen him fail. No surprise there, it wasn't like he was the Boy Wonder...No! No time to think about that! There was more to the story!

"Then what, THEN WHAT...?" He clung to his hair, tugging at it in frustration. It only worsened his headache, but spurred his memories slightly. The reason his head hurt...He had woken up!

The memories were slowly returning to Beast Boy's head, playing before his eyes like a movie. He had awoken in front of a castle, with the air feeling slightly heavier than it did at home. It had been warm and moist, with a smell similar to that of rotting meat. That alone had caused Beast Boy to feel even more ill than usual. But that castle -- tall, pure white, pale like moonlight, with a beautiful shimmer around it -- it hadn't fit in with the dead lands that surrounded it, which had no life, no living plants -- only corroding bark and festering piles of what used to be vegetation and greenery years ago.

...Beast Boy had been tossed aside -- the Chiserran had been talking together. All of them had sounded excited, with the exception of their tall leader, Urres'l. His face had been twisted with concern and weariness, while the others had seemed to be looking forward to something or another.

"He's back, our Ruler is finally back!" Gerood had cried with elation, which hadn't seemed possible for someone with his body mass.

"This truly is a glorious day..." Ker'rk had agreed, slowing down uncharacteristically to look up at the sky and revel in the light from the five moons.

"When will the ceremony be complete?" Wer'nel had asked with a hint of impatience, a proud smile still on his face.

"In a week, when the moons align," Or'lesp had then explained with an identical fangy grin. "He will regain all his memories during it, and it can begin-"

"Silence," Urres'l had growled, causing his brethren to all stare at him in confusion. "It is too early to celebrate. Those dirty humans we fought will likely come to stop us. They had the daughter of Azeroth and the Tamarranian princess with them. They know the secrets to interplanetary travel, and we CAN be found."

"Urres'l, calm down-" Or'lesp had begun, but had been cut off instantly.

"NO. This is no time to let our guard down. You SAW how the humans were fighting and what they did to our Ruler. We will show them no mercy..."

Throughout this conversation, Beast Boy had been looking around. Most importantly, he had noticed that there was no sign of Jose. Despite his weak state, that had caused the green boy the panic a little, and he had stood to his feet, feeling himself sway.

"HEY! Ugly, ugliest, and the three ugliers!" Beast Boy had called to the Chiserran, still too dizzy to truly know what he was doing. He had begun his transformation, into a gorilla, but before it could be complete, Gerood had stepped up. The mass of muscle had taken a deep breathe and sent out a loud shriek, hurting Beast Boy's ears, and causing the Changeling to collapse instantly...

Beast Boy remembered it all now. He was on a completely different planet. The Titans had no idea where to find him. And Jose was in a different area. Beast Boy had utterly failed on Earth. Now, because he was so weak, the Titans would come looking for him and Jose and risk themselves. All because he had screwed up.

"No..." Beast Boy breathed slowly to himself, feeling his anger at himself causing his blood to boil, giving him strength. He forced himself to stand, holding onto the bars to his cage. "I'm NOT going to be stuck here," He repeated in a louder, angrier voice. Beast Boy Closed his eyes, shifting. When the transformation was completely, he was an elephant, huge, muscular and powerful, and he used all that power as he ran into the bars.

"Whoah-!" Beast Boy shifted back, falling down after his attempt. The bars were too string! All he had to show for that effort was a vertical bruise on his face. But he wasn't going to give up. He had to take care of this before the Titans could get involved and risk themselves.

Beast Boy shifted into every powerful animal he could think of -- lion, tiger, gorilla, polar bear, grizzly bear, tyrannosaurus, ox...but nothing worked. The bars were simply too powerful. He had just gained himself more bruises.

But finally, after an exhausting hour, Beast Boy had a revelation. He could shift into small animals, too.

Feeling like an idiot, he shifted into a fly, buzzed past the bars with ease, and transformed back into his human shape outside the cage.

"Aren't I a genius today...?" Beast Boy asked himself sarcastically, feeling thoroughly annoyed with himself for not realizing the simple escape sooner. Usually, when captured, his ropes and cages shifted with him. But he hadn't shown the Chiserran any shape smaller than that of a large tortoise, so there was no way for them to know that he could turn into something as small as a fly.

With a sigh, Beast boy walked forward, squinting in the darkness. He was far too exhausted to try any more transformations, so he had to rely on his own senses to get him out, at least to an area with food. If he had something to eat, he could regain some strength-

"OW-!" Beast Boy fell back, rubbing his nose in pain. He had smacked into something... ...Wait, he had smacked into something! A wall! He had reached a wall!

"C'mon, mister doorknob, don't be a stranger..." He muttered, quickly beginning to run his arms across the wall. He moved left slowly, looking for any form of doorknob, any form of latch or pulley or anything. He went through three corners before finally finding something, and with a bit of probing around, he figured it was a doorknob. So with a turn of his wrist the door was open! Thankfully, they had thought the cage would be enough to stop Beast Boy.

Freedom! He burst outside, instantly blinded by the light. He managed to hold back a string of obscenities as he held his arms in front of him, attempting to adjust to the light without his eyes exploding. When he could see again without his arms providing a shield, Beast Boy looked around, noticing that the air inside was just as stuffy as it had been outdoors. He was inside come form of building, with the floors made completely of marble. There was nothing fancy around, nothing too expensive. Long hallways, yes, but no vases or paintings as one would have expected.

Beast Boy swallowed nervously, propping his arm up against a wall to stay standing. He hadn't realized how weak he was until then. How long had he been there? It could have been days later. He was hungry, thirsty, and still hurt. He needed to find food of some sort if he was going to try and take those pale-faced losers on again...

No, no! What was he thinking!? He learned the first time he was no watch against them! He needed a plan. He needed to think for once instead of just jumping into action. Someone else's life was on the line...

"Hey, hey, Gerood! Gerood!"

Beast Boy's head shot up. Voices down the hall, around the corner! He needed to hide! The changeling looked frantically around. Nothing there! Why did he have to end up in such an empty hallway!?

"Gerood! Hurry up!" Ker'rk shouted, zipping into the corridor, his back turned so that he could wave to his brother. "You're so slow..."

"YOU try running like that when you're this big," Gerood grunted, catching up to his brother, rather annoyed. As he did, though, his eye caught something behind his skinny brother's back... "Hey...Was that window always open?"

"Huh?" Ker'rk turned around, looking at the window in question. He shrugged it off easily, waving his hand in front of his face. "Hard to keep up, really. I mean, it's fun to pretend the air can get a little better, but with all the death outside, it's never going to get any fresher, y'know? One of us probably opened it out of habit..."

As he spoke, the skinny brother zipped up to the window, closing it tightly and locking the latch. His face was turned towards his brother, though, which Beast boy was thankful for, considering he was hanging off of it by his fingertips.

The green hero let out a sigh of relief, watching the Chiserran walk back towards his brother, still talking. That had been so close! He was far too tired to transform anymore, and if the window hadn't been there, he would've been caught...

...But what had he been talking about? Death? He had sounded so disappointed mentioning it...

Beast Boy's ears twitched, listening in carefully to the sounds behind the closed window. When he was sure that the two were gone, he swung his leg over the sill and sat down on it, looking up and down the building. He could climb anywhere easily, and a few windows were open at random, as the speedster had predicted. Getting back inside was no longer a problem for Beast Boy.

All he needed now was a plan...

Disclaimers:

Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Robin, Cyborg, Silkie, and pretty much everything but the plot at hand and the Chiserran belong to © D. C. Comics/Cartoon Network/Kids WB

Sorry fror the delay...! People were demanding a new chapter, and I finally got inspired. Thanks to those who review, it really helped! But I didn't proofread in my rush, so please be nice. about mistakes...


	13. Chapter thirteen: The Basement Floor

**Wrong Conclusions**  
Chapter Thirteen: The Basement Floor

"Are you sure that's the planet this time?" Robin barked into his headset with an annoyed tone.

"Positive," Raven replied with some acid in her voice.

"Please, friends, though we have been mistaken a few times, I am sure Beast Boy will be unharmed!" Starfire pleaded.

"Star, don't try, these two're gonna be at each others' throats until we find him," Cyborg sighed, not wanting Starfire's mood to die as well.

They had been searching for Beast Boy for two days now. Raven and Starfire had been the ones to give directions, though that had led the team to about eight extra planets. They worked off of the directions in Raven's books and the map Starfire had from her memories, and the two had not worked well together. Robin and Raven had been constantly fighting, Robin because of Raven's small snaps towards Starfire, and Raven because of the twinge of annoyance she felt at Beast Boy for getting himself captured. But finally, both Starfire and Raven were agreeing on which planet to search next, though Starfire was growing more and more pale as they approached it...

Cyborg looked down at his control panel in an attempt to ease the pain in his head. Usually, it was Beast Boy and Raven he had to pull apart, but now the two birds were squawking at each other left and right. At least with Beast Boy, he'd sit back and take a loss now and then, but two people as hot-headed as Raven and Robin could hold grudges until the day they died.

"Hey," Cyborg suddenly said, noticing some odd readings. "You guys sure this is the planet?"

"Do you doubt me, too, now?" Raven muttered, glaring at the stars in front of her.

"Quite positive," Starfire chirped with her voice cracking slightly. "This planet still remains in my head quite clearly."

"Well, I hope you two're right. It's just that my radar's saying that there're maybe seven living things on it."

"What?" Raven narrowed her eyes in surprise. "My book said that it's supposed to be heavily populated..."

"When I resided there, there were indeed great numbers of Chiserran..." Starfire mumbled quietly, doing her best to hide her small sense of relief. She had been nervous from the moment Robin had said they were going to find Beast Boy. She would have had it no other way, of course, but she was dreading seeing the Chiserran again. Fighting a small group before had been terrifying enough for her, but going to their home planet sent constant chills of horror up and down her spine. As relieved as she was, she couldn't help being a little worried at the reading, though...

Why were there so few living creatures there? Despite the horrors that had occurred there, Starfire remembered the planet as beautiful, shining with life under the constant moonlight. Beautiful blue grass, crystal-clear water, white sand, silvery plants...It had been the thing fairy tales were made out of. There had been creatures, so many creatures. What could have happened?

"We're landing," Cyborg informed his crew, steering the ship down, getting through the gravitational field. He, like the others, was nervous, but he knew Beast Boy could handle himself, at least for a little while. After all, if he wasn't at least a little hopeful, what was the point of even risking coming? It was his best friend, and he was getting him back.

"This...What kind of planet is this...?" Robin asked quietly as they got past the grayish clouds and the land below was revealed to them. It looked...terrible. All in shades of dark yellow and brown, with some grey and black mixed in. Everything was rotting away, not a single plant stood on its own. In between the piles of dead greenery lay a few corpses of animals that, if Robin had ever seen alive, wouldn't have recognized anyway. Any water that seemed to have existed had run together with the rot and become muddy, foul-smelling, festering puddles. If this was the planet the Chiserran came from, Robin wasn't surprised that they were so evil...

"This isn't anything like the book..." Raven began, starting to doubt that they had reached the right planet again.

"No, this is it..." Starfire breathed out slowly, feeling small tears forming in her eyes at the horror of the scene. "My friends, we have reached the planet of the Chiserran. Beast Boy is somewhere here."

"How do you know, Starfire?" Robin asked slowly.

"The castle ahead -- I know it well. Though the rest has changed, it stands as though untouched. And I believe Beast Boy and the Chiserran reside there."

"She's right," Cyborg nodded. "That's where the life readings are coming from. And two of them are really weak -- if one of them's Beast Boy, he hasn't eaten since he was captured. He probably won't even be able to transform if he's that exhausted."

"Let's go, then," Raven said with a nod, unbuckling herself before the ship even landed properly, and pulling off her headset as well. "We're getting him back," she said with a sense of determination, narrowing her eyes at the castle ahead as though it were her unforgivable foe.

The ship landed without a problem thanks to Cyborg's excellent piloting, but it sunk a few inches deeper than he had expected due to all the decay.

"Aw, man, that's just gross," Cyborg sighed as he unstrapped himself and exited his part of the ship, just like everyone else. He gave a weak groan of annoyance, seeing his poor ship's bottom engulfed by the ground as though it were sitting in some sort of horrible green jell-o. "But not as bad as the smell!" he added a second later, cupping a hand over his nose and trying to ignore his urge to vomit.

"We'll get used to it," Robin said automatically. He didn't like the smell either, but they had bigger things to worry about. "Our goals are to find Beast Boy and the little boy and get back to the ship as quickly as possible. Starfire," he pointed to her without even looking. "Take the air, see if you can find him from there. Raven," he pointed to her next. "Phase inside, try and look for a basement, an attic, anything Cyborg and I wouldn't be able to get to on foot. Cyborg," the large man got pointed to last. "You make sure to keep an eye on your readings to try and figure out who's who and that they all stay there." Robin said the last quickly, as though not wanting to think of what exactly what he said implied.

"Got it," Cyborg nodded solemnly, lifting his forearm so he could keep an eye on it. He knew what Robin had meant, of course. None of them knew how much longer Beast Boy or the little boy were going to last, after all.

"Understood," Starfire nodded as well, closing her eyes for a moment and breathing in before lifting slightly into the air. The thought f having Beast Boy back was more powerful than all the horrors of the planet.

"Mm," Raven nodded, lifting her hood up to cover up her head. She did so mostly to hide her mildly worried expression. Two of the life forces from inside the felt, they were so weak...But it wasn't the time to dwell on it. She had a mission.

"Titans, go!" Robin pointed his hand to the castle, and they dispersed, all with determined expressions on their faces. Robin and Cyborn ran towards the castle as quietly as possible as Starfire tinkled like a bell as she flew off. Raven chanted her sutra before allowing the shadows below her to engulf her and bring her down into the ground, and then swiftly brought her into the basement of the castle without much effort.

"Augh," Raven was instantly taken aback by the horrible smells there. She lifted her cloak to her face, trying to keep it out. It was as though all the rotten smells from outside had wound up in their lower floor and had had at least fifty more years to accumulate further and become worse. She fought off the urge to gag, and walked forward, looking around.

It was a simple, stone corridor that looked considerably better than is smelled. It was spotless, from ceiling to floor, all silvery in color with bright red precious jewels lining the trimming. The walls were covered with golden-bordered paintings of other Chiserran, all with the same bright red eyes that looked oddly familiar to Raven as she passed by then.

She shuddered slightly as she walked down the corridor. There was something strange about the air, and it wasn't just the scent. Something there was wrong, something that involved disturbed spirits, but nothing she could pinpoint quite yet. And it didn't help that all the paintings seemed to have their eyes on her as she walked by.

Finally, after what felt like half a mile in, Ravn caught sight of something interesting – doors, all of them completely black, and outlines in the same red jewels that the rest of the hallway was. She approached it cautiously, preparing some black energy as she walked up to the small window the door had. It was old, very dusty, and Raven had to squint to make out what was hidden inside. The moment she realized what it was, she gasped, barely able to hold back a scream. Her sheer horror at what was there caused the small window to break open, which she regretted instantaneously.

The smell was horrible, it stung her eyes and nose as though it was a mix of mustard gas and pepper spray, and she fell back, landing on the ground, coughing violently in an attempt to rid her body of the toxic fumes. But the longer she tried to stay where she was, the force the small became, as more and more escape from the room.

"Azarath metrion ZYNTHOS!" she raised her hand, tearing a piece of the wall away and forcing it into the place of the broken window. The metal scratched and screeched as Raven forced it into the place it did not belong in, but she had little choice. As soon as she felt it become snug in the small area, she allowed the energy to fade, and quickly raised her face to her nose again. Thankfully, the material blocked out the smell rather well, which allowed her thoughts to drift back to what she had seen.

Inside the room, the thing that had caused her to fall back had been a corpse. But it hadn't been just one, it was dozens, maybe even a hundred or more all crammed into one room. There were women, men, children, it didn't look to discriminate at all. She had no idea how old any of them were – their pale skin had turned completely grey and begun rotting off the bones, most of their clothing had turned to dust, and their hair had begun to disintegrate and fall to the ground as well. They stood, propped up against one another, their fangs glistening slightly, still in their mouths, and their eyes forever open due to the fact that their eyelids had melted away, left staring blankly at nothing in front of them, with a look of question, as though all asking why, or how this could have happened.

Raven shook violently, unable to get the image out of her head. Why were there so many dead, and much less, so many Chiserran?

After a few more moments of trying to swallow the taste out of her mouth, Raven floated back to her feet, calm once again. It wasn't her problem. Whatever had happened to this planet, these people, it had happened too long ago for her to be able to do anything about it. She had to save Beast Boy now, she had to make sure he didn't end up in a chamber like that for the rest of eternity.

_Where could he be?_ she kept asking herself. She had already made a lot of noise, it was a miracle no one had come to find her. But as she walked forward, she heard something – footsteps, light ones. Ones that sounded so irritably familiar that she couldn't help a smile forming on her face.

"Beast Boy!" She called running towards the sound, but regretted it instantly. She listened to her ears instead of the energy around her. It wasn't Beast Boy; it was a harder, crueler energy, one that she did recognize, but not as Beast Boy's. She slowed her run, and quickly rose her arms to fight as the shadowy figure down the corridor became clear.

Or'lesp stood there, his fangs prominent even with the little light that was there, his hair slicked back just as she remembered it. What was different, however, was the expression on his face. He wasn't laughing, cocky in any way as he had been when he had fought Best Boy the two times before. Now, Or'lesp had his eyes narrowed in a sort of rage that Raven had never seen before. One could have thought that she had killed his brothers from the way he was staring at her.

"How dare you be here!?" He snarled at her, an enraged blazing in his eyes. "How DARE you disturb our sacred grounds!? Have no NO respect for any others, NO respect for those who lost their lives!?"

Guilt flooded quickly into Raven at that accusation. Sure, she had not meant to break the window, but it didn't take away from the fact that she had still disturbed a tomb, horrible though it was. And apparently, the Chiserran thought that the accommodations were fine for their culture. "I-" She began, but had no chance to finish. Before she could, the male was suddenly in front of her, having teleported, and was aiming to hit her in the face.

Raven barely managed to form a dark shield in front of her before she felt the blow, but the male shattered it with his fist as though it had been nothing but a poorly-made vase.

"You will pay for your disturbance!" He shrieked appearing behind her suddenly and aiming a kick. Raven had not been ready for that one, and felt his leg connect with her back. The pain shot up her body and she flew several feet forward, landing on her knees. She didn't like getting hit. She especially didn't like getting hit without a chance to explain herself. She gritted her teeth, feeling the darkness beginning to overtake her.

She was here for Beast Boy, it's not like she came to destroy some sort of sacred shrine! If they hadn't taken her friend, she would have never done anything! And she was being blamed for it, on top of it, being forced to waste her time with a fight when Beast Boy may not have had much time left?

"Fine..." She hissed, feeling the darkness emanating from her breath like fog as two more eyes appeared on her forehead, a much brighter red than the ones of the Chiserran. "If it's a fight you want, I'll give it to you!!"

"It's a defeat you're getting, daughter of Azaroth!!" He roared, running at her now, his fist ready for a strike, as Raven lifted slightly off the ground, the darkness carrying her up to get leverage, and the fight began.

Disclaimers:

Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Robin, Cyborg, Silkie, and pretty much everything but the plot at hand and the Chiserran belong to © D. C. Comics/Cartoon Network/Kids WB

Who thought this story was dead? :D  
I re-read the Teen Titans comics recently, and I'm getting pretty into it again. I'm gonna try and finish this story up, all. Sorry for taking so long. You guys are the nicest readers ever!


	14. Chapter fourteen: The First Floor

**Wrong Conclusions  
**Chapter Fourteen: The First Floor

"Cyborg, you take this floor," Robin said as the two approached the first staircase. Robin had used his tools to unlock the giant lock on the front door, and with some effort, it had clicked open, and allowed the two to slip inside rather silently. It had been a peaceful skulking, until the two had heard a loud, metallic screeching from below them. That was a clear sign that soon they would be found, so Robin had instructed Cyborg to find a staircase, and he had done so.

"You sure, man?" Cyborg asked, looking around the long corridor in front of him. He was already getting his sonic cannon ready for a battle; he could hear footsteps approaching. "There was a lot of 'em last time, remember?"

"I'll be fine," Robin said simply, already beginning to walk up the steps. He hesitated for a moment, turning to Cyborg. "Make sure you are, too, alright?"

"Pff," Cyborg rolled his human eye, a wide grin appearing on his broad face. "Don't worry about me. I got some major payback I need to dish out, and nothin's gonna stop be from servin' it!" The cannon on his arm hummed, fully charged and ready for battle, just as eager for battle as its master.

"Right," Robin smiled slightly and nodded, face turning serious once again as he disappeared up the stairs, leaving his robotic friend alone to face the approaching threat.

"Come on, come on..." Cyborg muttered, watching the corridor in front of him. He knew which one he wanted, and he was just hoping it was that Chiserran approaching him and not the speedy one.

A very bulky shadow became visible through what little moonlight appeared from the window, and Cyborg gave a wide grin. It was Gerood after all. He had to show that guy a thing or two about sonic attacks.

"Hey! Big, beefy and ugly!" Cyborg called to him as the large male came into view, grinning slightly. He obviously found Cyborg to be a decent opponent. It was something the two had in common, being happy to see their opponents. "I'm gonna pay you back to knockin' around my friend earlier!" Cyborg warned him. He didn't want to bother sneak attacking him. He had a strong sort of kinship that he couldn't describe with Gerood. They were both sonic users, both really physically powerful. And for some reason, Cybrg felt that the Chiserran before him wasn't going to try and sneak attack him either. It was a gut feeling, but it was one of the few human feelings that he still listened to anymore. The probabilities that appeared in front of his cybernetic eye always gave him calculations, but more often than not, his gut had steered him in the right direction.

"I owe you a beating, as well, android," Gerood said in a smooth voice. It looked as though Cyborg was right. He was looking for a fair fight, not a dirty one. That, or he didn't consider Cyborg a threat at all. But Cyborg decided to assume the former, since he was clearly a threat. How could he not be, with his large, metal arms, after all? "After all, I doubt my brothers would be able to deal with you on their own..."

"Well, I don't think YOU can handle me," Cyborg said, beginning t grin rather widely as well. Despite himself, all the seriousness, he couldn't help but feel excited. Something in him knew it was going to be an awesome battle.

"Ready?" Gerood asked, crackling his knuckles, and then his neck, both giving loud popping sounds as he moved them.

"Ready," Cyborg pulled his leg back, pulling his cannon out in front of him.

With that, Gerood breathed in deeply, and Cyborg's cannon glowed bright white-blue. And both attacked.

Gerood's shriek caused a high pitch that almost perfectly echoed with the high-pitched whirr of Cyborg's cannon. It was hard enough as the two attacks were sent at each other, but then they connected, their pitched added onto each other, causing a sound so loud and so horrible painful that both men flinched as a result. Cyborg felt some of his radio-controlled hardware begin to fizzle out, and his head wasn't much better as it throbbed with every wave of sound. Gerood was no better off, closing both his eyes and his face flushing a dark shade of gray as the attacks continued. But neither man gave way, and the resulting vibrations were causing the castle to shake slightly and all the dust in the area to rise.

"Nngh...!" Cyborg gave his weapon more power, re-routing some of his battery sources to it to do so. Noticing the higher power, Gerood balled his hands into fists and put more force into his attack as well, raising the volume and rate of the vibrations resulting.

Cyborg grunted, closing his eyes. He knew he couldn't keep it up. He needed his power supply, wasting this much energy wasn't good. But he didn't want to lose, it was a matter of pride now, which was better, his mechanic attack, or Gerood's natural one. And that battle was clouding Cyborg's logical side, which was only further weakened due to the horrible headache he was getting.

What snapped him out of it was the blue electricity that suddenly sparked in his chest. The vibrations were ruining his systems...He couldn't continue it. He had to accept Geroo'd attack.

Shutting his eyes tightly, Cyborg shut down his cannon, straighning his body, getting ready to accept the other's sonic attack. But there was nothing. Just silence.

Cyborg opened one eye to see Gerood opening one eye at the same time, panting violently. He had run out of breath the same moment that Cyborg had decided to concede. It took a moment for both the men to realize what had happened, but the fact hit them at the same time. And unable to do anything else, they begun to chuckle at the sheer silliness of what had just happened.

"I guess we're too much for each other with our attacks," Cyborg said, allowing his cannon to turn back into a normal arm, clenching his hand into a fist once to make sure it still worked properly.

"Or just enough," Gerood said, his voice slightly raspy and he rubbed his throat a bit to try and ease the immense pain he was feeling there. "Either way, I do not thinking doing it again will yield to much of a result."

"I agree," Cyborg said, the grin only widening on his face. He knew exactly what Gerood was proposing, and he was looking forward to seeing which one of them was superior.

"Hand-to-hand," Gerood announced, cracking his knuckled again before stretching his fingers out. He didn't even bother waiting for Cyborg's nod – he pulled his leg back and stood in a back stance, leaving most of the weight on his back leg and little on the front. He put one open palm in front of him, while the other he held back in a fist, ready for combat.

"Perfect," Cyborg smiled, standing up straight, one leg slightly behind the other, beginning to bounce from one leg to anther as he raised both his fists in front of him, one slightly below the first. It was his type of fight. Two people of roughly equal strength going up against each other with the different styles they had been trained in. His boxing against whatever martial art like style Gerood had, the outcome being left to whichever one had more skill than the other.

The two locked eyes for a moment, Gerood not so much as flinching despite Cyborg's robotic eye, and the two seemed to read one another's minds, for they both charged each other at the exact same moment, both shouting as they did so.

Their fists met each other in a thunderous blow, one knuckle hitting the other, Cyborg's metallic skin feeling a sort of pain that he usually didn't feel unless he tried punching a brick wall. But Gerood seemed to have the same reaction, for he pulled his fist back just as quickly as Cyborg did, looking slightly irritated but also considerably more excited. It was now clear that the two could hit with equal strength, and take hits with roughly the same ability. So it did all come down to nothing but skill – it was a truly equal match.

Gerood reacted faster, turning on his heel and using the back of his open palm, aiming for the back of Cyborg's head. Thankfully, the cybernetic male noticed it and ducked in time, more used to ducking and weaving. He faked a punch towards Gerood's face, and then moved to the side, aiming a true hit to the side of his head. Unfortunately, Gerood reacted just as quickly, and pivoted out of the way. He turned the pivot into a surprisingly high kick, and managed to hit the half-robot right in the abdomen.

Cyborg grunted, feeling pain rise up his body like a stain setting into carpet, but he took the opportunity to grab onto and hold the man's leg. Gerood was clearly surprised, not used to anyone being able to out-strength him, and could do nothing as Cyborg lifted him with a loud cry and spun, letting him go into the nearest available wall.

Amazingly, Gerood extended his hands before he connected with the wall, and ended up doing somewhat of a sideways back-handspring off of it. He landed on his feet, but the force forced him to fall forward and tumble once before stopping properly on one knee. He panted for a moment, clearly shocked that anyone could hurl him so easily, but his surprised expression quickly broke into an almost insane grin.

Cyborg wasn't about to wait for him to wake up. He ran towards the man with a yell, arm ready to hit him right back into the wall he had just avoided, but Gerood reacted in time. As soon as Cyborg let the hit go, Gerood blocked the hit, and used the force created by Cyborg's running towards him to pull the mechanic man forward, onto his back, and then stood suddenly, sending Cyborg into the air, up-side down, into the wall behind him.

Cyborg yelped at the sudden development, unable to do anything except for take the hit. But after his back connected so violently with the wall that it left cracks, Cyborg strained his shoulders, popping himself off and landing on one of his knees.

He heard Gerood approaching behind him, running, and decided to give the man a taste of his own medicine. As soon as the Chiserran was close enough, Cyborg caught the man's leg under his arm, and used the leverage to toss the man in an awkward position towards the wall Cyborg had just falling from. It was too close of an impact; Gerood didn't have time to react, and ended up breaking a hole right through the wall, to the outside, sending dust and debris everywhere. There was a loud splat that quickly followed, the sound of Gerood landing in the swampy, disgusting ground below.

Cyborg wasn't about to wait for him to get up. He leaped right through the hole that the man had created, landing a few feet in front of him, getting his fists up again, and for good reason. Gerood was already on his feet again, in a new stance, this one with more weight on his front leg, looking a bit angry with half of his head and most of his body being covered in the rotten gunk that made up his home planet.

"I _hate_ this stuff," he grunted, huffing through his nostrils like an angered buffalo before yelling and charging right at the metal man. He no longer cared about protecting what he had to protect; it turned into a battle of pride, and he intended to win. He sent a punch towards the man's chest, which Cyborg managed to dodge out of, but turned instantly with a powerful back-kick. Cyrog's eyes widened, barely managing to raise his arms in time to keep his abdomen from betting his a second time. He ended up sliding back several feet with a horrible splurching sound due to the state of the dirt, and stopped with both his feet buried in the gunk up to his ankles.

"What-!?" he tried to yank his feet out, but before he had a chance, Gerood was on him again, yelling like a madman as he sent a barrage of powerful punched right at him. Each hit buried the other's feet into the ground as well, but it looked to be his goal. The two were stuck now, unable to move away, unable to throw each other. It was down to blocks and punches.

The first few hits connected with Cyborg's chest, actually causing the metal to cave in slightly and spark from the strain, but after figuring out the other's plan, be began to block, and quickly, began returning the punches with just as much force. The two were shouting loudly, their voices being the only real sounds for miles outside the castle, echoing through ht emptiness like the voices of ghost warriors form the past, continuing their battle in the afterlife.

Within minutes, both men were damaged. Cyborg's knuckles were slightly sunken in, and sparking now and then due to the damaged equipment within. Gerood's fists were scratches, bruised gray, and actually beginning to bleed some black-red blood. Cyborg's chest and abdomen were heavily dented, sparking very often now, certain functions beginning to shut down within his system. But Gerood's body wasn't much better. He had a black eye, and his chest was covered in gray marks, and deep scratches that bled like his knuckles. But despite all the pain, neither man let up, both continuing their battle as though no energy had been lost.

But eventually, after almost twenty minutes of this torture, Cyborg's robotic advantage came into play. Both men were drenched with sweat, panting rather than yelling, exhausted, but refusing the let up. But then Gerood's eyes began to blur, making his movements sloppier, messier, and less accurate. Cyborg would have suffered the same fate, if not for his robotic eye, which allowed him to stay focused despite his human weaknesses. And as soon as Gerood stumbled slightly, leaving an opening between his arms, Cyborg took his chance.

The half-robot crouched down, clenching his fist tightly, and leaped up with all his force, sending a violent hit directly into Gerood's chin.

"BOOYA!" He shouted in victory as his freed his feet, and Gerood's at the same time. The Chiserran flew through the air, backwards, his entire body shaken violently, head vibrating from the hit, mouth tasting of blood as one of his fangs chipped right off and sailed with him through the air. He gave a weak, choked sound as his consciousness faded, and landed in the muddy ground behind him, eyes closed, body limp, knocked out with that one, final hit.

"Take that..." Cyborg panted, not fairing much better. His human eye was blurring violently, and his robotic parts were sparking as they begun malfunctioning. The adrenaline leaving his body, he quickly begun to feel the pain creeping up his body, snaking into every muscle and worsening his condition.

Cyborg groaned, falling to his knees, feeling his systems failing. He needed to reboot, his body had to try and repair itself, to converse what little energy it had left to repair the horrible damage done. And it couldn't do so with Cyborg conscious. So without his permission, Cyborg's electronic eye turned off, and quickly after it, his human eye fluttered close. His body fell forward into the gunk that made up the planet, laying there as though he'd fallen asleep, rather than passed out after one of the most satisfying battles of his life.

Disclaimers:  
Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Robin, Cyborg, Silkie, and pretty much everything but the plot at hand and the Chiserran belong to © D. C. Comics/Cartoon Network/Kids WB

See? Trying! :D I swear?  
Cyborg FINALLY get a decent chapter. I think what happened was badass, and I hope you guys do, too. The boy needs some love.  
Also? Reviews, please. D: Reviews = more updates.


	15. Chapter fifteen: The Second Floor

**Wrong Conclusions  
**Chapter Fifteen: The Second Floor

It was surprisingly difficult upstairs, with all the racket going on below. Every attack Raven done with darkness had made the walls shake, and the few hits that Cyborg had managed to pull off inside the building had caused the floor to vibrate like an earthquake had been going through the area. But the Boy Wonder and Wer'nel managed to continue their fight despite all the shaking, managing to not lose their footing for a single attack.

When Robin had arrived upstairs, Wer'nel had already been waiting for him, a metal staff in his hands, standing outside a jail cell. Robin had been rather surprised upon the sight. It was a jail cell, with bars and everything, but the inside was furnished like the palace for a king. There was a large bed with black, silk sheets, a table laden with delicious looking and smelling food, comfortable seats all over, and bookshelves laden with huge tombs, as well as what appeared to be comic books.

As soon as he had approached, the small, red-headed boy that Beast Boy had given a communicator to had rushed to the bars from the other side and rattled then to the best of his ability. He was paler now, with large bags beneath his eyes, and his hair had been slicked back. The boy was wearing new clothes as well, a very fancy black robe with silver symbols all across it, and collars and belts with red gems all over. His eyes were red now, rather than the strange shade of brown, and he had small fangs beginning to form. Robin had stopped to stare at the little boy, barely able to believe he was the same person.

But the way the poor boy had sobbed and begged for help through the bars had taken away all of Robin's doubts. He had known he had to help the boy, and without a word, he had extended his own staff and charged Wer'nel with a loud yell.

The two had been fighting for almost twenty minute now, trading hits almost perfectly, every jab that hit one hitting the other a moment later, every throw being countered by another grab, every kick being blocked or swept away, every hit of the staff being kept away from each other's bodies through skillful maneuvers. The two were perfectly matched in normal combat, and Wer'nel was preventing Robin from reaching into his belt to get anything that could gain him an upper hand. Every time Robin tried, he had his hand smashed rather violently by the Chiserran's staff, and met with an expression as though Robin were a small boy being scolded for trying to pull a cookie form the jar before dinner.

Wer'nel ducked under Robin's wide hit from the staff, and allowed his own to clatter to the ground as he rushed forward and hit Robin directly in the ribs. Robin, not having expected such an attack, fell back, dropping his own staff in shock, as Wer'nel used a back-hand spring to leap back and pick his staff back up into his hands.

Robin stayed where he was, too shocked to move. He had lost. He had actually lost, trying to fight for a little boy...

But Wer'nel didn't move. He stayed where he was, a few feet in front of him, looking at the Boy Wonder expectantly. Robin stared right back, mask widening as his surprise grew more and more each second. The two merely stayed in silence, staring at one another.

"...Well?" Wer'nel grunted, clearly aggravated with Robin's slow reaction.

"Well...'Well,' what!?" Robin shouted, obviously confused. "You could finish me with no problem, what're you doing!?" The words came out before he knew what he was saying, but he was too confused not to. He needed to know what the Chiserran was playing at, for his own sanity. He had expected a battle to the death, if anything, and here he was, just...waiting for Robin as though it were a sparring match?

"You're weaponless," Wer'nel said simply. "I want a battle with staffs. We haven't agreed on other terms. So get back up and get back to the fight!"

Robin's mask widened even more, but then he shut his eyes, trying to process what had just been said to him. How could someone so honorable, someone who enjoyed a fight so much, kidnap a little boy and try to kill Beast Boy? The Boy Wonder simply couldn't believe it. The pieces didn't fit.

"Hold on," he said, standing up cautiously. He was worried at first, but calmed considerably when he saw the Chiserran lower his staff almost instantly, albeit with a very reluctant look, almost like a boy who had been told he had to wait until Christmas morning to open his present. The Boy Wonder got to his feet with no problems, and then held his hands up to make sure and remind the other that he was weaponless. "Why do you care if this is a fair fight? I thought...I mean, you're villains!"

"Villains?" Wer'nel narrowed his eyes in an annoyed manner and lifted his staff onto his shoulder as though it were a baseball bat. He obviously didn't like the accusation. "We never did anything wrong!"

"You kidnapped a small boy!" Robin pointed to the cage, but his voice was more confused than angry. He didn't see how anyone could not see something like that as wrong, no matter the culture. "And you took Beast Boy, too!"

"Just because you do not understand someone's reasons doesn't make them a villain," the other responded, his voice suddenly very cold. "Does he look harmed? Does it look like we tormented him?" He motioned back to Jose, who was staring through the bars at the two of them.

Robin looked at the child, truly looked at him, for the first time since he'd barged onto the second floor. To his sudden surprise, the boy looked perfectly fine. His clothes were clean, though he was wearing the sort of black leather that the other Chiserran wore. He had no cuts, no bruises, didn't look starved, just very terrified. But there was no way that Robin could say the men had been abusing him.

"A villain is someone who kills children, attacks others while their backs are turned, forsake all their people!" Wer'nel continued when he was satisfied with Robin's expression. "My brothers and I have done no such thing! We merely brought one of our own home, nothing more!"

"Then what about Beast Boy?" Robin shouted back. He was beginning to panic; he was used to things being very black and white, someone being the villain, someone being the hero. The fact that they had not hurt Jose had relieved him, of course, but he was beginning to lose sight of who the villains really were now. "Even if Jose IS one of your people, why would you take Beast Boy!?"

"The Changeling is necessary," the Chiserran replied simply, his voice cold as ice. "What few evils we may do, are for the greatest possible good. The needs of many trump the needs of few."

"That's not answering my question," Robin's voice iced over as well. If the Chiserran had wanted help, they should have asked. Not kidnapped two people and held them hostage. Even if they thought what they were doing was right, it didn't make up for the wrongs that they did commit. He had to stop them, and figure things out after. That was the only option that kept everyone safe. "But I doubt you'll be answering anyway."

"The ways of my people would only confuse someone such as yourself," Wer'nel turned away, looking distant for a moment. Then suddenly, with a yell, he broke his staff over his knee, clear in half, snapping right through the metal, resulting in two very sharp, very jagged sticks in each of his hands. And he hurled one right into Robin's chest.

The boy wonder caught it in his hands, fumbling slightly in surprise, but he didn't have long to react. Wer'nel was already rushing towards him, his own half of the staff ready to continue their fight. Robin barely managed to duck under one of the Chiressan's fists as it came towards his jaw, and he back to then tumble to the side to miss being hit by the sharp end of the other's metal weapon.

Robin took the split second the weapon was stuck in the ground and kicked forward from his crouching state, aiming for the Chiserran's legs, who hadn't expected the Boy Wonder to react quite as quickly as he had. He ended up falling forward, losing balance, but he, too, ducked and rolled to the side, on his knees by the time Robin had stood up and picked his weapon up.

Robin rushed towards the pale man, his weapon ready, but the Chiserran managed to stand in time to meet the broken piece of staff in the air with his own, as though they were swords instead. It quickly turned into a battle of faux-blades, with one trying to stab at the other, and neither managing too well. But Robin quickly understood that he was at a disadvantage. Fencing had never been a sport he'd been interested in; Wer'nel seemed the opposite. After ten or twenty hits, the Chiserran begun landing hits, slicing at Robin's shoulders and legs, leaving thicker and thicker cuts, until finally, he managed to get his weapon behind Robin's wrist, and with a skillful turn, disarmed the Boy Wonder, sending his only means of defense sailing through the air.

Robin tried to back up, but his back found itself pressed against a cold wall behind him. He was trapped, weaponless, already bleeding from a few places. He didn't know what to expect at this point, what was going to happen. Would he be allowed to get his weapon back? Or was this the end?

"Disarming is fair," Wer'nel hissed with a wide grin, as though reading Robin's mind. "It proves my skill over yours." He pulled his arm with his half of the staff back, and aiming it right for Robin's chest.

The Boy Wonder shut his eyes, knowing he would never dodge in time, bracing himself, all his memories flashing before his eyes in his one, still breath. His childhood, his earlier teen years with Batman, when he first met the team, his fist kiss with Starfire, all the adventures he had his team had had, all the times he could have spoken to Starfire, told her more about himself, all those timed he'd stayed silent and stayed away from her...All the times she'd tried to open him up, to help him, to just make him happy...And how he wasn't going to get a chance to fix any of it? Never see her again...?

"NO!"

Robin's eyes shot open. The weapon was less than an inch away from his chest, just over his heart. His eyes quickly found the source of the yell, seeing Jose sobbing at his cell.

"NO! No, don't so it! D-don't...Please..." the poor boy sunk to his knees, continuing to stare at the scene. Tears were streaming down his cheeks and his hands shook as they clung to the bars in front of him. "Don't kill anyone. Not because of me. P-please, stop it..."

Robin's heart ached at the scene. The boy was so sad, so horrified at what was going on. He wouldn't imagine what sort of monsters could simply keep a young boy locked up like this, even if they were treating him well.

Wer'nel sighed, smiling slightly at the child, confusing Robin once again. "Yes, my Ruler," he said obediently, bowing slightly in the direction of the young boy and allowing his half of the staff to clatter uselessly onto the ground.

The Boy Wonder's mask widened in surprised as he watched the weapon clink against the ground. He really did have no idea what was going on, and he somehow doubted he was going to get straight answers by asking either. But that hardly ever stopped him from asking.

"Why would-" Before he could finish his sentence, Robin's face had Wer'nel's fist connecting with it. Robin ducked back, but ended up hitting his head against the wall behind him. He'd forgotten he was pinned, as though he dodged the fist, his eyes were almost watering from the pain of hitting the wall. His vision doubled momentarily, sending him off his balance. But before he had a chance to see straight again, Wer'nel's elbow connected with the back of his head, and the doubling vision quickly disappeared into nothing more than blackness.

The Boy Wonder collapsed forward, knocked out, and free to dream about all the memories that ahd flashed in front of his eyes only moments ago...

Disclaimers:  
Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Robin, Cyborg, Silkie, and pretty much everything but the plot at hand and Chiserran belongs to © D. C. Comics/Cartoon Network/Kids WB  
Also? Gimme reviews. Please. :D


	16. Chapter sixteen: The Third Floor

**Wrong Conclusions  
Chapter Sixteen: The Third Floor**

What was going on here! Minutes ago, the entire place had been perfectly silent, and suddenly, the walls were shaking and there were shouts vibrating throughout the entire place!

Beast Boy had to lean against a wall to keep himself from fainting again. Those weird vampire people were refusing to feed him after they'd caught him outside of his cell, but they were making a point of keeping him alive. He was on the third floor, inside of a specially-designed cage. It fed him energy, or something kind of white light, that was keeping him alive, but just barely. If he so much as tried to morph into something small enough to get away, that was it, out like a light, with his heart barely beating. But all the sounds and vibrations had woken him up after his last attempt, even if he didn't have the energy to stand.

He was so tired - every sound made a wave of migraine pain sweep across his head, and even opening his eyes to the dim light was aggravating. His stomach was churning and groaning louder than even the sounds outside, practically causing Beast Boy's body to shake with its rage. The only bright side was that over his few days here, he'd finally gotten used to the smell, and couldn't feel it anymore. That, or it had damaged his nose so badly he couldn't smell ANYTHING anymore.

"What's going on...?" Beast Boy meant to shout, but it was nothing more than a weak question. Even if he had shouted, he was sure no one would have heard over all the chaos going on around him. But, he swallowed, licking his lips with his equally-dry tongue, and managed, slightly louder this time, "What's going on...!" But he knew it was hopeless. Those shouts, those loud, whirring shrieks outside, those blasts, they were way too loud...

And familiar.

"Cyborg...?" Beast Boy tilted his head towards the outside, sure that he was hearing his friend's cannon. It sounded like it, along with Gerood's loud shriek...But no, no. Beast boy shook his head, ridding it of those thoughts. There was no way the others could have found him. There was no way to track him without his communicator, and the stupid Chisseran made sure to destroy anything that could track them. And why would they bother? It had all only happened because Beast Boy hadn't been strong enough. Again. What did they want with a guy like that on their team...?

But whatever was going on, though, it didn't sound good for those fanged guys. And whatever wasn't good for them, was good for Beast Boy, and good for Jose. He just needed to figure out a way out of this CAGE.

With some effort, and a loud groan from his stomach, Beast Boy managed to hoist himself up by the bars, to look around the place. The room was bare, and the device giving him energy was too far for from to reach unless he turned into something with longer limbs. Or small enough to leave the cage. But even thinking of shifting made him feel ready to collapse again...

"Don't get your hopes up, Changeling," a voice to his left said, and Beast Boy groaned, already knowing who it was. Ker'rk was on Beast Boy sitting duty, and the annoying speedster had been on the teen's butt since they'd captured him from the first cage. Ker'rk was impatient, and not much to talk to. He was very annoyed at picking the short straw and being the guard and loved to blames Beast boy for this inconvenience. Even now, beast Boy could hear him tapping his foot with his arms crossed over his chest, just itching to get out and fight. "My brothers will take down your friends. They already have once - a second time won't be so hard."

Beast Boy's eyes widened. His friends? Oh, no, the Teen Titans really must have found him, after all. They had no idea what to expect form the planet, from the castle itself. The Chisseran had a huge advantage over them. Suddenly, he became considerably more interested in escape than he'd been a minute ago. But he knew he couldn't get out as he was. He couldn't shift, he couldn't punch his way through. His only hope was to get to that weird energy-cube and turn the power up. The only thing he knew about it was that it healed him, and that the Chisseran didn't like it. It seemed to hurt them, just being around it, with worse pain the closer they were. Gerood had been the one who'd placed it there, and he'd almost passed holding it like a hot potato.

"You don't know them," Beast Boy said suddenly, putting as much of a cocky attitude into his voice as he could manage in his condition. It must have sounded more convincing than he thought, because a look of worry flashed across Ker'rk's features. The guy was easily tricked, Beast Boy had had in one his toes more than once since he'd been in this cage, and he knew he could manipulate Ker'rk to a certain degree as long as he kept his story straight. "You saw them - they don't look like they're from earth, right? Not like all the other humans. And they're not. They get stronger, the longer they're out in space. And boy - have they been in space a while, looking for me." Beast Boy forced a smile. He was so tired, even a real smile would have had to have been forced, anyway, so it was pretty convincing.

"You...You lie," Ker'rk said, but his eyes flashed towards the corridor, hearing all the sounds. There were so many crashed, it was impossible to tell whose were whose. But Beast Boy was used to such situations, healing sounds, not knowing how his friends were doing. Ker'rk was a speedster. All he ever needed to do was flash there, and he knew whatever he wanted to know. This was torture for him, not knowing.

"No, not really," Beast Boy said, shrugging his shoulders as though he didn't care. He regretted it greatly, because Gerood's conic attack had done some damage there, but he did his best not to flinch. Even if he had, Ker'rk wasn't watching him anymore, anyway. The Chiserran's eyes were on the doorway. He was taking the bait. "It's gonna be pretty bad. Too bad you guys don't know how to stop their power. If you did, maybe you'd stand a chance. But at this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if there's nothing left of your brothe-"

"TELL ME HOW TO STOP THEM!" Ker'rk roared, suddenly right at the front of the cage, his arms against the bars, shaking it violently. His fangs were bared, and a rush of wind followed him, cooling Beast Boy's face slightly, from how quickly he'd sped over. He was right between Beast Boy and that cube. Perfect.

"Why would I tell you?" Beast Boy pushed himself against the bars himself, but his voice cracked as he shouted. He was doing his best to keep his eyes straight forward, on Ker'rk, and not flicking towards the cube. He had one chance, he didn't want to give himself away, even if he didn't think Ker'rk was smart enough to figure out what he was doing. "They're here to help me, and you can't kill me!" He's figured out that much already - they needed Beast Boy for some kind of weird, very cult-like ceremony. But whenever Beast Boy tried to figure out what it was, what it involved, the Chisseran always started to speak in some alien language, even though it sounded like they had trouble speaking fluently in it.

"You can still feel PAIN!" Ker'rk growled, his hands shooting out to grab Beast Boy by the front of his shirt and yanking him forward, smashing the Changeling's face against the metal bars..

Perfect.

Beast Boy latched onto Ker'rk's hands and bit down as powerfully as he could with that lower-jaw fang of his, into the Chisseran's hand. Ker'rk yelped in surprise, but the sound, even with the echo from the mostly-empty room, was utterly washed out by all the other battle sounds around the building. Ker'rk instinctively tried to yank his hands away, but he was thin, and Beast Boy managed to cling on for an extra second - just enough to lead to the left, before letting go - and letting the guy crash right into the healing cube behind him.

It had the same effect it had had in Gerood; when Ker'rk hit it, he screamed loudly in agony, as the healing waves actually seemed to cause damage to his body, turning his skin a darker, more purple shade. And in his pain, the Chisseran picked up the cube, and threw it, as far from himself as he could. Right towards Beast Boy's cage.

The Titan quickly reached out with his foot, pulling the cube the rest of the way towards his cage with his foot at Ker'rk took a few moments to writhe in pain, on his back, writhing in agony and his fingers clinging to his hair. Normally, Beast Boy would've felt bad. But right now, he was trying to survive, and these were the people who had made him doubt that was even possible.

"Come on, come on..." Beast Boy hurriedly leaned down to pick up the cube, feeling the world sway beneath him as he did. He was so weak and light-headed that just leaning down made his head spin. But, even though his vision was blurry, his fingers were fine - and he found a dial on the bottom of the machine. "Yes!"

Without thinking, he turned it all the way. The cube made a loud, shrieking noise, like a boiling tea kettle, and it started to turn hot - very hot - in Beast Boy's hands. It began to glow bright white, and before the Titan could even drop the cube due to the pain from the heat - it exploded.

Beast Boy tried to shield his face, but there was no need. The pieces of metal disintegrated before it even reached his face. All that hit him was a huge wave of energy - more energy than he'd felt in years. It was as though he'd never been trapped, starving, for over a week. He wasn't hungry, dizzy, tired, or weak anymore. He was back to his peak, and instantly, he used that energy to shift into one of his favorite forms: gorilla.  
a He let out a roar of victory, using those massive arms of his to bend the bars out of shape, bending further than he normally would, enough for his whole gorilla shape to fit through. He slid past his opening without a problem, stepping out and slamming his fists against his chest, feeling slobber trickling off his chin in excitement. But there was no need. Ker'rk had passed out.

"Oh," Beast Boy shifted back to normal, quickly realizing that the blast of energy may have helped him, but one that big was probably the equivalent of an implosion for the Chisseran. He was on the ground, no longer moving, all his skin pulsating a sick sort of purple-red color. It almost looked like every piece inside of him was bruising, all at once. Beast Boy stuck out his tongue, not liking the look, but the guy was still breathing. He would be okay, right? Nothing to worry about.

"Whoah-!" Beast Boy almost fell over as the floor underneath him started to crack apart. The entire building was crumbling. He looked left, right - dust and other particulates were falling to the ceiling, the walls were all shaking. The building wasn't going to last much longer.

"Augh...Dude!" Beast Boy couldn't believe his luck. His luck, or what he was about to do.

Without thinking very much, the Changeling crouched down, and lifted the skinny Chisseran up, tossing him over his shoulder. "You OWE me," He said, knowing there was no point in the guys' unconscious state. What was he doing! This guy wanted him dead! But no. He'd left the Doom Patrol, he'd left their extreme ways. Despite everything, they could have treated him worse. They could have tormented him, they could have hurt Jose, the little boy. And there was something about them, something about the sadness in their eyes and the way they turned to Beast Boy with so much hope that made something, something deep inside of Beast Boy, think that there was more to them than being violent villains.

Beast Boy ran towards the window, almost falling over as the floor under his shifted again, some of it starting to crumble. As soon as he was out the window, it was right into the shape of a giant eagle, as big as he could manage, letting Ker'rk drop a few feet before he caught him in his claws. The Chiserran was quite light, lighter than Beast Boy had expected, and it wasn't difficult at all, though his claws did cut the man's shoulder slightly. As soon as the skin broke, some black-red liquid started to leave, liquid that smelled almost like rotten flesh, but it made his skin his that are turn back to pale-gray instead of remaining a sick purple-red.

Beast Boy wanted to land, that was his plan. Until he heard a loud, laser-like sound behind him, and turned his head, to see some green power-bolts flying through the air, and Starfire standing there, on the roof, standing her ground in front of Urres'l. Her eyes were determined and glowing with rage, but she'd clearly missed on purpose; the star-bolt had missed the Chisseran by mere inches, and was meant to threaten him, to get his attention. It had gotten his attention, yes, but the man's face wasn't changing. He didn't look scared - only very, very angry.

Author's comments: Sorry it's taking so long, I just have a hard time believing anyone's so into this story. My original stories are much, much better - if you want me to send you a link to those, I can.

Also, this is embarrassing, but...I can't remember what the story is about, which Chisseran has what power, so on. Anyone want to tell me in a PM? ^-^'

Disclaimers:  
Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Robin, Cyborg, Silkie, and pretty much everything but the plot at hand and Chiserran belongs to D. C. Comics/Cartoon Network/Kids WB


	17. Chapter seventeen: The Roof

**Wrong Conclusions****  
Chapter Seventeen: The Roof**

"HUAH!" Starfire roared as she say the Chiserran lift his hands. She had no idea what his power was, and she wasn't going to risk finding out so soon. A second star-bolt flew from her fingertips and right towards him, this time, no warning. After training her aim as hard as she had, she had no difficulty getting the guy right in his wrist; then the green energy hit, his arm was thrown off-course and to the side of his body, leading a grey-black scorch mark there, but no real damage. Starfire knew how tough they were after seeing how Beast Boy had been fighting them, and she knew the general power of Chiserran from personal experience.

Ures'l didn't even flinch. That man's golden eyes remained stiff and cold as some smoke drifted from his wrist, but his lips did pull back to form a sneer. "Just like a Trog – attacking while knowing _nothing_." He hissed, but didn't move as Starfire landed on the roof in front of him. She stayed at least twenty-five feet away, but within earshot, to be heard over all the sounds of the battle and the building beginning to break down. The damage hadn't reached the very top of the roof yet.

"I do not wish to fight, but we received few other options," Starfire called out. Her eyes remained bright green and glowing, and a new star-bolt was ablaze in her hand, ready, just in case. "You have taken our friend, you have taken a child! I do not see what other choices you give us when you attack us so!"

"WE are the ones with no options!" Urres'l roared, his eyes ablaze with fury. "We have had everything taken away, all resources, all life! Our one chance remained on your planet, and your selfish kind cannot accept but one sacrifice to save an entire people!" He stepped forward, bringing his hand to his chest again as Starfire hesitated.

Her eyes widened in confusion, shaking her head slightly, registering what he said. "I do not understand," She finally said, but she felt the glow in her hand fade. And unfortunately, Urres'l did as well.

As soon as that glow disappeared, Urres'l's hand lashed out – and from the center of his palm came a bolt of pure electricity, arching its way across the roof straight towards Starfire, faster than she could even react with a shout of surprise. As soon as she saw it, she was already hit, square in the chest, feeling the white-hot electricity blaze through her entire body, from the chest, down to her feet, into the roof.

Starfire collapsed to the ground, her body feeling the after-effects of the attack. It was like hot irons had been pressed to every inch of her insides; she could see smoke lifting up from her body with the slight hiss of burning flesh. The smell hit her nose, too – that of cooking meat. He knew right away that it was her. Thankfully, however, a Tamaranian body could handle a lot worse than a bolt of electricity. Unfortunately, she was temporarily paralyzed as her nerve endings tried to remember now to function properly – right down to her lungs.

The roof started to crumble – all around Starfire, bits and pieces of the roof starts to cave in. First little pebbles, then rocks, then huge, gaping holes began to form, falling down to the ground.

Urres'l walked over to her, calmly, both his hands in his pockets. The look of hatred in his eyes were unmistakable, but Starfire saw something more there – a look of pity, almost. Starfire tried to open her mouth, tried to speech, but her body didn't know how to do that again quite yet. Soon, the Chiserran's foot was only inches away from Starfire's head.

"Of course, you do not understand," He growled, looking down at her with a look of disgust as he lightly shook his head. He knew she couldn't get up, couldn't react to him. But he also knew it was only temporary. "Your kind would never understand, what it is, to have your entire race cursed. To have them locked away, to have watched dozens of your loved ones die, to be left with _nothing_. You are not even capable of such emotions, capable of being responsible for trying to bring life back to your planet. To bring back the ruler in his new form, to use his pet to begin the revival. None of you could understand this – not a Trog like you, and definitely not the heartless, honorless humans you have surrounded yourself with."

With that, he opened his palm again and pointed it, this time, at Starfire's head. The only muscles she could move were those on her eyelids – and that was what she did. She squeezed them shut, waiting for that final blow...

But it never came.

Starfire's ears were still ringing because of the blast, but after a second, she could make out that familiar, raspy voice shouting over all of the chaos going on around them.

"...Lay a hand on her and your brother's done for! So don't even think about it!"

Starfire's eyes shot open and she felt her lungs finally remembering how to breathe. What she saw was Beast Boy on the other half the the roof, holding up a knocked-out Chiserran over his head with both arms like some sort of prize. He didn't look well; all his skin was purple-black and blotchy, although a small part of his shoulder appeared to be turning gray once more. Starfire gasped, both to get air into her body, and out of surprise at what she saw.

She was so happy! There was Beast Boy, right there, after so many days of worry! Not only that, but he looked fine! Sure, he had some scratches, and his entire uniform had nothing but tattered edges left, and he was missing a shoe and glove, but he was standing, his voice was strong, and he was doing at least a thousand times better than Starfire would have ever expected. She had expected him locked up, starving, or worse, not even alive anymore, from Cyborg and Raven's abysmal readings. But there he was, as strong as ever, and saving Starfire from what surely would have been death.

"Beast Boy..." Starfire tried to call out to him, but her throat was still paralyzed. The joy spilled over across her body, however, and she was began to float without even realizing it.

"You lie," Urres'l said to Beast Boy. Though his face was filled with a whole new level of disgust. "If you had plans to harm my brother, you would have not brought him with you and attempted to release the poison his body had created."

"The what?" Beast Boy looked up at the Chiserran over his head once more, and then a look of realization came over him as he glanced at those new, bruise-like markings. "OH, so THAT'S what all that is...Sorry to break it to you, Dracula, but that was only an accident." He said with no guilt in his voice. But suddenly, his voice turned to ice. "So if you dare hurt Star, you lose him. Permanently."

Starfire's eyes widened in concern for a moment, but deep down, she knew it was a bluff. No matter how angry, no matter how spiteful, she knew Beast Boy would never stoop so low as to take a life for a life. But the Chiserran he was yelling at did not know Beast Boy as well as Starfire did.

Urres'l narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth in rage, panting loudly. That threat clearly shot anger through his whole body - unforgivable anger. Something Beast Boy had said had rattled that man right to the core; he was practically hyperventilating, and his pupils constricted into nothing more but tiny, tiny slits. He snapped, and lifted his arm, so that his palm was pointing right at Beast Boy. "_I will lose_ _NO MORE_!"

That roar from the Chiressan actually drowned out all other sounds for a moment - the fighting, the building crumbling down to nothing, the sound of air crackling as the electricity flew from Urres'l's palm. In fact, the noise was so loud, neither Beast Boy nor the Chiserran heard the pleasant jingle of Starfire talking flight - so neither of them had noticed her already getting between the two.

When the bolt left his palm, it wasn't yellow like before. This time, it was white-blue, causing a loud crack to go through the sky as it hit. Both Urres'l and Beast Boy's mouths and eyes widened with surprise, when they sat it connect with Starfire's abdomen, rather than Beast Boy. Beast Boy had been in the middle of a morph - ready to turn into a fly to avoid being hit. But the shock of seeing what happened threw his concentration, and he turned back into his normal self just in time to shriek, "STARFIRE!" and watch her spark in the air for a second.

The electricity crackled through her, through her hair, arching across her body, smoke lifting from everywhere. A giant, burn-mark was fresh on her stomach, nothing like the mild burn on her chest; it was open, blooding, oozing, with all the edges charred black. Smoke lifted from her, drifting into the air for a moment as a sizzling sound emitted from her.

For a moment, it really was like the world had slowed down. Beast Boy's arms slipped away from him. He didn't mean to drop Ker'rk, but he forgot he'd been holding the man. He'd planned to morph into a fly, morph into a pterodactyl, and catch him before he hit the ground if Urres'l hadn't gone for him. But that's what he'd been counting on - Urres'l picking his brother. Urres'l attacking him. Urres'l leaving Starfire _alone_. No matter how many times Beast Boy had imagined it, he'd imagined the chiserran leaving her _alone_. But now - now there she was. In between the two of them, in the air as though frozen in time as everything around him seemed to finally lose what had been holding it together. Ker'rk was falling down beside him, the roof under his feet was collapsing in on itself. Everything around him seemed to have gone strangely silent, like sound wasn't even working anymore, like nothing else was there, only that sizzling of Starfire's skin.

But Beast Boy didn't realize it. To him, it felt like that was happening inside him, instead. That something - something that had been holding him up - had shattered. Whatever it had been, whatever that foundation was, it cracked, and then crumbled, and he could feel it, inside of him, in his chest, in his gut - all of it, just crumbling away, each tiny piece chipping away and then vanishing into nothing...

And then, as suddenly as it had stopped, time started up again. The noises all hit Beast Boy at once, attacking his ears. The scream, the roof falling onto the pile of rubble below, Urres'l screaming for his brother, the sound of a final blast somewhere to his left. Everything was moving. Urres'l was flying down after his brother, Ker'rk continued his fall, the stones and wood the roof had been made up fell below. Time hadn't stopped. It was still moving. This was all happening.

Then Starfire's eyes rolled back into her skull, and she plummeted towards the ground.

Author's comments: Thanks for all the support, everyone. I'm trying to finish this up. I have work and graduate school applications, which I'm horribly nervous about, but if I get into the school I want, I want to make finishing this story one of my goals before I enter it.

But, reviews help me write better. I lost my e-mail and wasn't getting any; thought no one was interested anymore. Reviews~ :D

Disclaimers:

Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Robin, Cyborg, Silkie, and pretty much everything but the plot at hand and Chiserran belongs to © D. C. Comics/Cartoon Network/Kids WB


End file.
